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HON WILIJAM E. GLADSTONE 



LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES 

OF 

Hon. WM. E. GLADSTONE 

CONTAINING A 

Full Account of the Most Celebrated Orator and 
Statesman of Modern Times 

COMPRISING THE 

GRAPHIC STORY OF HIS LIFE; HIS BRILLIANT GENIUS AND 
REMARKABLE TRAITS OF CHARACTER; GRAND 
ACHIEVEMENTS AS A LEADER AND PRIME 
MINISTER; HIS MAGNIFICENT TRI- 
UMPHS IN GREAT POLITICAL 
STRUGGLES, ETC. 

A NOBLE EXAMPLE TO ALL ASPIRING 
YOUNG MEN 

INCLUDING 

His Famous Speeches and Orations; Striking Incidents in 
His Career; Personal Anecdotes, Reminiscences, Etc. 

by D. M. KELSEY 

Author of "Gems of Genius," "Pioneer Heroes and Their Daring Deeds," Etc. 



Embellished with a large number of Superb Phototype and 

Wood Engravings 



NATIONAL PUBLISHING CO., 

239, 241 AND 243 AMERICAN ST., 
PHILADELPHIA, PA. 



UAsl 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1S9S, by 

J. R. JONES, 

In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C. 

All Rights Reserved. 



£855g 



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PREFACE. 



]"^0 other Englishman of the past or the present has 
f / been more popular in this country than Mr. 
^® Gladstone. This feeling in his behalf does not 
spring altogether from an admiration for his intellec- 
tual abilities, or the broad and statesmanlike views 
entertained by him. Nor has it arisen only from sym- 
pathy with the liberality of his opinions. It is rather 
traceable to a sincere respect for his capacity for growth. 
We might easily elaborate this proposition by historical 
references ; but the field is too broad for thorough 
inspection at the present moment, and a cursory glance 
would be worse than useless. 

Believing that it is this quality which has made him 
not only respected, but worthy of respect, it has been 
the aim of the writer to trace the progress, year by 
year, from the most pronounced Toryism to an equally 
positive Liberalism. At the same time there has been 
no effort made to fit the facts to the theory, as is some- 
times done under similar circumstances, for the simple 
reason that nothing of the kind was necessar}'-. 

There are a number of biographies of Mr. Gladstone, 
of more or less value, to which the writer begs leave to 
express indebtedness. Chief among them is the careful 
work of Mr. G. B. Smith, in whose two large octavo vol- 
umes there is almost everything needful. A "London 
Journalist " contributes another biography, which has 
not, however, been brought down later than the second 
administration of its subject ; the same limitation is 
applicable to the volume of Mr. G. R. Emerson. Mr. 
C. W. Jones' little volume is an admirable one as far as 



4 Preface. 

it goes ; and Mr. Lucy's merit in connection with this 
subject is too well known for comment to be necessary 
here. It is to be regretted that his book contains no 
more matter than an average magazine article. 

In addition to these biographies, there has been fre- 
quent consultation of w r orks of a less special character. 
"The Gladstone Government," by a Templar; T. P. 
O'Connor's " Gladstone's House of Commons," and 
Justin McCarthy's "England Under Gladstone," will 
at once suggest themselves. But in addition to these 
there should be specified the Rev. W. N. Molesworth's 
" History of England Since 1830," and others of like 
character. Cooke's " History of Party,'' McCarthy's 
" Epoch of Reform," and several memoirs of the time, 
have been used in writing of the Reform Bill of 1832 ; 
and there has been careful reference to special biogra- 
phies of Sir Robert Peel and others of similar importance 
in the narrative. 

The tone of these works has been so uniformly kind 
and admiring that Louis J. Jennings' work, " Mr. Glad- 
stone : a Study," has perhaps been invaluable as giving 
the extreme view of the other side of the question. 

The writer has also studied, in this connection, Mr. 
Gladstone's own writings, both in the " Gleanings of 
Past Years " and elsewhere. 

Many points of interest have been drawn from the 
periodicals, — daily, weekly, and monthly. All of the 
leading American publications have been made to con- 
tribute something; while Temple Bar, the Times and 
other London dailies, and the London illustrated week- 
lies, may be named in the same connection. Of course 
the whole thread of the latter portion of the narrative 
is drawn from the newspapers, since the biography is, 
complete up to the time of is§ue. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

ANCESTRY AND EDUCATION. 

Napoleon and Wellington — Great Public Questions — Family of the Gladstones — ■ 
Birth of the Subject of the Present Memoir — Scotch Parentage— Early 
Education — Wealth of the Family — Sketch of Lord Brougham — Mr. 
Gladstone at Eton— A Culprit Called Up for Correction — Account of 
Arthur Henry Hallam— Papers Published at Eton — Troubles in Ireland — 
Canning and His Ministry — Mr. Gladstone Brought Up as a Tory — Char- 
acteristic Anecdote — The Future Premier at Oxford — Life as a Student — 
Early Promise of Great Distinction 19 

CHAPTER II. 

THE BEGINNING OP PUBLIC LIFE. 

Interest in Political Questions— Reaction After the War — Destitution of the 
Colliers — Seats in Parliament Bought and Sold — How Elections were 
Conducted — Duke of Wellington as Prime Minister — Plan of Reform — 
Fury of the Tory Peers — Address to the Electors at Newark — Mr. Glad- 
stone Elected to Parliament— The Slavery Question — Eloquent Speeches — 
Becomes Identified with Great Public Questions — Rising Star in the Polit- 
ical Firmament 44 

CHAPTER III. 

EARLY OFFICIAL LIFE. 

Whigs Versus Tories - Trained in Early Life to Speak in Public — Account of 
Sir Robert Peel — Events Following the Passage of the Reform Act— Mr. 
Gladstone as Junior Lord of the Treasury — Canadian Troubles of 1837 — 
Death of King William IV. — Address to His Constituents — Accession of 
Victoria to the Throne — More Agitation of the Slavery Question — Debate 
on the War with China— Queen Victoria's Marriage— Popularity of the 
Prince Consort , . , , , , . . 69 



6 Contents. 

CHAPTER IV. 
GLADSTONE VS. DISRAELI 

Repeal of the Corn Laws — Disraeli in Parliament — His Extravagant Rhetoric — 
Pithy Sayings and Merciless Satire — Free Traders and Protectionists - 
Division Among the Tories — Gladstone's Speech on the Navigation Laws 
— His Growing Liberalism — The Condition of Canada — Colonial Govern- 
ments — Remonstrance of France and Russia— Some Account of Lord Pal- 
merston — The Celebrated John Bright— Mr. Gladstone Defends His Ac- 
tion — Ecclesiastical Titles Bill — Mr. Disraeli in the Cabinet — Gladstone's 
Eulogy on the Duke of Wellington— Overthrow of the Ministry. . . lOb" 

CHAPTER V. 

THE MINISTRY OF ALL THE TALENTS. 

Mr. Gladstone's Early Political Faith— His Act of Self-denial— First Step 
Toward Leaving the Conservative Party — House of Commons and the 
New Chancellor of the Exchequer — Grows Eloquent Over a Dry Subject — 
Debate on the Income Tax— Impending War — Will of the People Must 
be Obeyed — Measures for Raising Revenue— Bitter Taunts from Disraeli — 
Views of the Prince Consort — Miss Florence Nightingale The Crimean 
War— Impressive Scene in the House of Commons -New Ministry by 
Lord Palmerston— Lord John Russell — Great Speech by Mr. Gladstone- 
Continuance of the War Debates 132 

CHAPTER VI. 

PROGRESSING TOWARDS LIBERALISM. 

Treaty Following the Crimean War — Peace Concluded at Paris — Agitation Con- 
cerning the Continental Press — National Education — Bill Providing fur the 
Enlistment of Foreigners — 111 Feeling Between Eng'and and America — 
Criticism Upon the Government's Foreign Policy — Mr. Gladstonp's Alliance 
with His Rival — -Government Losing Strength in the House of Commons — 
Majority Against the Government — Attempt to Assassinate the Emperor of 
the French — Remarkable Peroration by Mr. Gladstone — Formation of a New 
Cabinet — Lord Derby at the Front — Financial Outlook Depressing. . 157 

CHAPTER VII. 

THE PALMERSTON MINISTRY. 

Lord Macaulay — Eminent Men in Parliament -The Ionian Islands — Agitation in 
Greece — Parliamentary Reform— Foreign Relations of England — Mr. 
Bright's Return to Parliament — A Man Ahead of His Time — Controversy 



Contents. 7 

Over the Eeform Bill — Mr. Gladstone's Speech on the Pending Question — 
Defeat of the Ministry— Appeal to the Country — Palmerston in Office — 
Fear of Invasion by France— Tax on Paper— Proceedings in the House of 
Lords — Liberals and Tories— Lord Russell Withdraws His Reform Bill — 
Cross Purposes in Parliament— Rivalry Among Opposing Factions. . 179 



CHAPTER VIII. 

EMANCIPATION FROM TORYISM. 

Wet Weather and Poor Harvests — Dull Session in Parliament — Post Office Sav- 
ings Banks— Garibaldi and His Red Shirt — Mr. Gladstone Defends the 
Liberator of Italy — Improvement in the Nation's Finances— Protest of the 
Opposition— Bitter Attack on Gladstone— Repeal of the Paper Duty — The 
Ionian Islands again — English Opinion and the American Civil War — 
Reduction of the Income Tax — Surplus in the Revenues for 1864 — The 
Working Classes — Osborne's Amusing Speech — The Question of Church 
and State— Mr. Gladstone Declares Himself Unmuzzled 207 



CHAPTER IX. 

REPRESENTING SOUTH LANCASHIRE. 

Love for the University — Address to the Electors of Liverpool — Popularity in 
the Large Towns Death of Lord Palmerston — Grave Concern Over the 
Irish Troubles— Old Question of Church Rates— Criticism of the Reform 
Bill — "Cave of Adullam" — Extension of the Franchise — Gladstone's 
Victory- Speeches in Scotland — Ministry Formed by Earl Derby — A New 
Reform Bill — Raising Income for the Government — Public Comment on 
Mr. Gladstone— Scotch and Irish Affairs — The Irish Church — Majority 
for the Liberals — Various Bills in the Commons 234 

CHAPTER X. 

THE FIRST GLADSTONE MINISTRY. 

Prime Minister of England— Disestablishment of the Irish Church— Disraeli's 
Sarcasm— Eloquent Defense by John Bright— Opposition Among the 
Peers — Irish Land System — Bill for the Relief of Ireland— System of 
Education —English Tourists Seized by Greek Brigands— War Between 
France and Prussia — Russia's Control of the Black Sea— Marriage of the 
Princess Louise - Army Regulation Bill — Tory Abuse of Mr. Gladstone — 
Ballot Bill — Proposal to Admit Women to the Franchise— Much Opposi- 
tion to the Government— Able Speeches by the Premier 265 



8 Contents. 

CHAPTER XI. 

THE FIRST GLADSTONE MINISTRY. 

(Continued.) 

Dangerous Illness of the Prince of Wales — Trouble on the Liquor Question- 
Gladstone's Sharp Retort on Disraeli — Army of Titmouses — Ballot Bill 
Again Introduced — Third Attempt to Settle the Irish Question — Justice to 
Ireland — Gladstone Determines to Resign— Important Changes iu the 
Ministry — Disraeli's Manifesto— Circular to the Liberal Members of Par- 
liament — Bill for the Regulation of Public Worship— Endowed Schools — 
Gladstone's Retirement from the Leadership of the Liberal Party — Pre- 
paring for New Legislation — Active Interest in Public Affairs. . . . 300 

CHAPTER XII. 

GLADSTONE IN OPPOSITION. 

Eastern Question— Turkey Does Nothing but Promise — Suicide of the Turkish 
Sultan — Oriental Races — Explanations by Disraeli — Raised to the Peerage 
— Bulgarian Horrors — Lord Salisbury in the East — Earl of Shaftesbury — 
Duke of Argyle — Lord George Hamilton — Gladstone's Pamphlet on the 
Turkish Question — Action in Parliament on the Turkish Situation — Pro- 
tracted Debate — Vote of Credit— " Peace with Honor" — Sir Stafford 
Northcote — Gladstone Arraigns the Government — Triumphal March 
Through Scotland — "Grand Old Man " — Great Ovations Every where. 318 

CHAPTER XIII. 

THE SECOND GLADSTONE MINISTRY. 

Great Liberal Majority — Importance of the Irish Question — Mr. Bradlaugh in 
Parliament — Lord Randolph Churchill — Great Expectations from the 
Gladstone Ministry — Treaty of Berlin Concerning Montenegro— Claims 
of Greece — Trying to Adjust Domestic Taxes — Game Laws — Post-office 
Department — Illness of Mr. Gladstone — Irish Land Law not Satisfactory 
— Peace Preservation Act — Irish Evictions — Home Rulers — Land League 
— Long Debate —Coercion Bills— Eloquent Speech of John Bright — Mem- 
orable Scene in the House of Commons — Ludicrous Incidents — Mr. Par- 
nell and Dish Legislation— Final Passage of the Irish Bill 359 

CHAPTER XIV. 

THE SECOND GLADSTONE MINISTRY. 

(Continued.) 

Mr. Bradlaugh Once More — Home Rule — The Lords and the Land Act — Amend- 
ment of the Rules — Arrears Bill— Concessions to the Irish — Phoenix Park 



Contents. 9 

Murders — Crimes Bill — Obstruction— Friends Failing— The Egyptian 
Question— Bombardment of Alexandria — Autumn Session — Forster's At- 
tack on Gladstone— The Reply— Explosives Bill— And Still, Mr. Brad- 
laugh— Minor Legislation— The Soudan Difficulties— Irrepressible Mr. 
Bradlaugh— The Egyptian Trouble Continues— The Afghan Boundary- 
Failure of the Soudan War— The Budget- A Sleepy Time— Waking Up— , 
A Great Speech— A Great Surprise— Fall of the Ministry 387 i' 

CHAPTER XV. 

THIRD AND FOURTH ADMINISTRATIONS. 

Mr. Gladstone Again in Scotland— Lord Salisbury on Public Questions— Result 
of the Elections— Third Gladstone Ministry— Advocates Giving Ireland 
the Right to Make Her Own Laws— Irish Land Purchase Bill— Second 
Reading of Irish Home Rule Bill— Eloquent Appeal on Behalf of Ireland 
—Irish Bills Condemned by John Bright— Rupture Between the Two 
Great Leaders— General Election of 1886— Defeat of the Liberals— Policy 
of Coercion— Action of the Tory Government— The Premier's Retirement 
—Lord Rosebery, Successor to Mr. Gladstone 416 

CHAPTER XVI. 

PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS, DOMESTIC RELA- 
TIONS, AND LITERARY CAREER. 

Estimates of Mr. Gladstone's Ability— General Appearance— Not a Narrow Man 

Marriage and Home Life — Hawarden Estate — Mannerisms — Speeches 

and Literary Style— Spontaneous Eloquence- Great Party Leader— Student 
and Man of Letters— Private Library— Scholar and Writer— Religious 
Character . . 43 ° 

CHAPTER XVII. 

MR. GLADSTONE'S DEATH AND OBSEQUIES. 

Mr. Gladstone in the South of France— Return from Cannes— Signs of Growing 
Weakness — Peaceful Death — Universal Demonstrations of Grief— Tele- 
grams ol Sympathy— Adjournment of the House of Commons -The 
Queen and Prince of Wales Express Their Sympathy— Tributes from the 
Newspaper Press — Telegrams from the Government of the United States — 
Estimate of Mr. Gladstone by Prominent Americans— Lying in State at 
Westminster— Great Throngs of People View the Remains— Remarkable 
Demonstration at Mr. Gladstone's Public Funeral— Burial in Westminster 



Abbey , 



449 



10 Contents. 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

MR. GLADSTONE ON THE ARMENIAN QUESTION. 

Not a Party Question — The Resolutions — Dreadful Words to Speak — Witnesses 
to the Massacres — Report of Dr. Dillon — Plunder, Murder, Rape, and 
Torture — Responsibility of the Turkish Government — The Turk Ought to 
March Out of Armenia — What is to Become of Christians in the Turkish 
Empire?— Sad and Terrible Story 462 

CHAPTER XIX. 

GLADSTONE ON THE BEACONSFIELD MINISTRY. 

Dissolution of Parliament — Reply to Opponents — A Serious Position — Policy of 
the Government — Responsible for Other Countries — Turkey a Scandal to 
the World— Derby and Beaconsfield — Turkey Encouraged to Go to War — 
Treaties With European Nations — Policy of Austria — Worshippers of 
Success — Treatment of the Sultan — Tory Government to be Tried by its 
Principles 473 

CHAPTER XX. 

THE IRISH QUESTION. 

Personal Explanation — Domestic Government for Ireland— Six Conditions for 
Home Rule — Repelling Attacks -Trivial Disputes — All Great Movements 
Small in the Beginning — Failure of Parliament to Legislate for Ireland — 
Attempt to do Justice to the Irish — Union of the Kingdoms to be Main- 
tained — Irish Affairs to Be Settled in Ireland — Movement Against Rent — 
Mr. Parn ell's Party — Central Authority — Home Rule to Be Safeguarded — 
Urgency of the Question — Charge of Being in Haste 489 



LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES 

OF 

WILLIAM E. GLADSTONE. 



CHAPTER I. 

ANCESTRY AND EDUCATION. 

Napoleon and Wellington — Great Public Questions — Family of the Gladstones — 
Birth of the Subject of the Present Memoir — Scotch Parentage — Early 
Education — Wealth of the Family — Sketch of Lord Brougham — Mr. 
Gladstone at Eton— A Culprit Called Up for Correction — Account of 
Arthur Henry Hallam— Papers Published at Eton — Troubles in Ireland — 
Canning and His Ministry — Mr. Gladstone Brought Up as a Tory — Char- 
acteristic Anecdote — The Future Premier at Oxford — Life as a Student — 
Early Promise of Great Distinction. 

aT the close of the year 1809 Napoleon was at the very sum- 
mit of his glory. Austria and Russia were in terror of his 
name; Italy and Spain were his submissive dependents; 
his own France looked at him with adoring eyes ; Prussia 
had been crushed to the earth ; Sweden had chosen one of his gene- 
rals as the heir to her crown ; Greece had no separate existence, 
but was merely a province of Turkey; England alone preserved 
her independence of thought, feeling and action. 

But though England sturdily held her own, she was not unim- 
pressed by the power of the conqueror. She had felt the weight 
of his iron hand, but had shaken it off. The council of Berlin 
had endeavored to cripple her resources by shutting the ports of 
Europe to her ships. Had the measure been carried out, the effect 
would indeed have been ruinous to England ; but the thing was 
impracticable; and, one after another, the various countries found 
that they must connive at the violation of this article of the treaty. 
Meanwhile, the English armies were in the field, headed by that 
very Duke of Wellington, then simple Sir Arthur Wellesley, who 
was to be the final victor in the great struggle. 

George III. was king of England, and in possession of as much 
mind as nature had chosen to give him ; he had been insane at 
more than one time before this, but had recovered ; and had not 
yet sunk into that long period of imbecility from which only 

19 



20 



Ancestry and Education. 



death delivered him. The Duke of Portland was Prime Minis- 
ter; the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, so important a 
minister in this time of war, was George Canning, the fame of 
whose eloquence had gone through the land ten years before. 
Besides the measures relating to the war, which of course oc- 
cupied the thoughts of all men to the exclusion of much which 
would otherwise have claimed their attention, there were two 
questions of importance that at this date were continually forc- 
ing themselves into prominence; these were the slave-trade, of 
which we shall have more to say hereafter, and Catholic Eman- 
cipation — a sub-division of that great Irish Question which has 

been a cause of per- 
plexity to English rul- 
ers and their advisers 
since the days of Hen- 
ry II. The most ardent 
and best known advo- 
cate of this latter meas- 
ure was no other than 
the disciple of Pitt, 
who had been so active 
an assistant to the gov- 
ernment which had 
passed the Irish Act of 
Union in 1800; and the 
name of Canning is in- 
dissolubly linked with 
the memory of this act 
of long-delayed just- 
ice. We hardly realize 
the severity of the laws 
against the communicants of the Church of Eome, as they existed 
at this period, in what we are accustomed to regard as the most 
enlightened and liberal country of Europe ; excluded from every 
office of trust, civil or military, they could not make their griev- 
ances known to the legislature, for every member of that body, 
whether of the Lords or the Commons, must, before taking his 
seat, take such oaths as were impossible to a Catholic. Their 
only hope was in the generosity of their enemies; and of these, 
Canning was the first, after Pitt had been obliged to break his 
promises to them, to urge their claims. 




George Canning. 




GATEWAY FROM HAWARDEN RECTORY TO THE CHURCH 



Ancestry and Education. 21 

In times of peace, the thoughts of the wise statesman and the 
prudent citizen turn to the improvements which it is possible to 
make in the condition of the country or the race ; in times of 
war, the same men are only anxious to preserve the advantages 
which have already been obtained. To apply this axiom to En- 
glish politics and political parties, men incline to Conservatism 
in war and Liberalism in peace. Those who are Conservatives 
in quiet times will naturally have this feeling strengthened at a 
period of doubt and anxiety, and become Tories. Such, at any 
rate, was the case with a great merchant of Liverpool, at the 
date of which we write; but his ancestry, his education, his suc- 
cess in life, and his Toryism, are all of such importance to the 
pages which follow, that we are not ready to begin his history 
in the year 1809. 

The family of the Gledstanes or Gladstanesw&s settled in Clydes- 
dale at an early day. In the beginning of the sixteenth cen- 
tury they were landed proprietors in that county, and some of 
the name are known to have been in business at Biggar for 
more than fifty years before the middle of the last century. They 
were uniformly successful in their efforts to make a living, if we 
may judge from the record of those who retired from active bus- 
iness life to the calm and quiet of the estates which they had 
themselves acquired; for this seems to have been a younger 
branch of the family, who .derived no share of the estates of 
Arthurshiel and Gladstanes, the first-mentioned as possessed by 
those bearing this now widely honored name. 

Some differences in the spelling of the family cognomen will 
be noted. The orthography above given seems to have prevail- 
ed until the middle of the last century ; for it is Thomas Glad- 
stones, who was born in 1732, who first writes it with an " o" in 
the last syllable. This was the grandfather of the great states- 
man. He left his father's house and settled in Leith, where he 
married. A numerous family grew up around him, the eldest of 
whom was a son called John. His business in the corn trade was 
so well managed and successful that he was able to make gener- 
ous provision for each of the twelve children who grew to man- 
hood and womanhood. 

John Gladstones had scarcely attained his majority when 
he was sent by his father to Liverpool, to sell a cargo of 
grain which had arrived at that port. The young Scotchman had 
dealings with a leading corn merchant of that place, the head of 



22 Ancestry and Education. 

the house of Corrie & Co.; aud displayed such capabilities for 
business that Mr. Corrie wrote to the elder Gladstones, request- 
ing him to allow his son to remain in Liverpool. So well did the 
young man fulfill the promise of his first acquaintance, that be- 
fore very long we find the firm of Corrie & Co. merged into a 
new house, with the name of Corrie, Gladstones & Bradshaw 
above its doors. The new member of the firm soon made hi& 
name a synonym for push and energy; and at least one occasion 
is recorded, when, by his activity, perseverence and indomitable 
pluck, he saved the house from utter ruin. 

After being a member of this firm for sixteen years, John 
Gladstones, upon the retirement of his partners, associated his 
brother with him in the business, and largely extended the 
range of his transactions. With these, however, we have little 
to do; it is enough to have seen something of the success with 
which he met, and know what was his standing among men. He 
had made his name well known in the country of his adop- 
tion, even before it was made illustrious by his famous son. 
That name, it will again be observed, still differed slightly from 
the form which is so familiar to us ; the final " s" was retained 
until the year 1834, when an act of Parliament sanctioned the dis- 
use of it; though the name seems practically to have had its 
present form for some years before that date. 

Mr. John Gladstone's first wife died, leaving no children ; and 
after a due interval, the merchant, who seems still to have had 
frequent communication with his Scotch home, though all his six 
brothers had settled in Liverpool, married Ann, the daughter of 
Mr. Andrew Eobertson, of Stornoway. One who knew the second 
Mrs. Gladstone intimately says of her that she was " a lady of 
very great accomplishments, of fascinating manners, command- 
ing presence, and high intellect; one to grace any home and en. 
dear any heart." Of the six children of this marriage, th 3 sec- 
ond was born Dec. 29, 1809, and was named WILLIAM EWAET 
GLADSTONE. 

In addition to the personal qualities of the statesman's mother, 
to which we have just heard such glowing tribute paid, she was 
descended, genealogists claim, from a stock held in high honor. 
No less an authority than Sir Bernard Burke, perhaps the high- 
est that could be quoted in such a connection, gives a royal ances- 
try to him who might well be called, like a statesman of an older 
day, the Great Commoner. The editor of the Peerage traces the 



Ancestry and Education. 



23 



descent of Ann Eoberlson Gladstone, step by step, back to that 
James of Scotland, who, in his captivity, fell in love with Lady 
Jane Beaufort, a descendant of Henry III. of England. Other 
authorties add, that besides this claim to the blood of the Bruce, 
the Robertsons were akin to the ancient kings of Man and some 
other notable nobles of the far past. Burke is too excellent an 
authority to be met on his own ground ; his assertions in such a 
case, made confidently as they are in this, are not to be lightly 
set aside ; and no one has had the temerity to do so. But if the 




Birth-place of Gladstone, Rodney Street, Liverpool. 
statement that Gladstone is descended from Eobert Bruce and 
the Plantagenets has never been contradicted, it is treated with 
the most sovereign contempt by the one most interested. Glad- 
stone has spoken of his ancestors, indeed 3 but if he is proud of 
any, it is of those who, by their own energy and honorable en- 
terprise, have carved their own fortunes, and risen to positions 
of public esteem and eminence. When, in November, 1865, the Par- 
liamentary Reform Union presented an address to him in the Glas- 
gow Trade Hall, he thanked those who had signed the address 
for reminding him of his connection with Scotland ; and added : 
"If Scotland is not ashamed of her sons, her sons are not 
ashamed of Scotland; and the memory of the parents to whom 
I owe my being combines with various other considerations to 



24 Ancestry and Education. 

make me glad and thankful to remember that the blood which 
runs in my veins is exclusively Scottish." 

A little later than this, he had occasion to deliver an address 
at the Liverpool Collegiate Institute, in which, in frank and 
manly words, the Prime Minister of Great Britain recounted his 
obligations to commerce. Standing in his native city, before 
Ihose to whose fathers and grandfathers his father had been 
known as one of the most eminent merchants and shipowners in 
Lancashire, he said : 

" I know not why commerce in England should not have its 
old families, rejoicing to be connected with commerce from gen- 
eration to generation. It has been so in other countries ; I trust 
it will be so in this country. I think it a subject of sorrow, and 
almost of scandal, when those families who have either acquired 
or recovered wealth or station through commerce, turn their 
backs upon it, and seemed to be ashamed of it. It certainly is 
not so with my brother or me. His sons are treading in his 
steps, and one of my sons, I rejoice to say, is treading in the 
steps of my father and my brother." 

Whatever illustrious names, then, may bo ranked among his 
mother's ancestors in the fifteenth century, it is clear that the 
statesman himself makes no claim to a connection with any but the 
middle class, as it is ranked in England. But it will be remem- 
bered that, with all the advantages which are the perquisites of 
birth and wealth, the aristocracy has produced fewer really great 
men than this same middle class ; and it will be found, upon 
careful consideration, that the majority of these few that we con- 
cede to them, are sprung, not of the old houses, but of those re- 
cently ennobled. The Grand Old Man has reason to be proud that 
he sprang from the middle class ; and, to use an antithesis sim- 
ilar to his own when he spoke of Scotland and her sons, we may 
add that the middle class is proud of him. 

When we have once fairly begun upon the story of the states- 
man's life, we shall turn aside only to notice those of his contem- 
poraries who, in any respect, approach to the plane upon which 
he stands ; let us, then, in this place, trace out something further 
of his family, as we shall not again return to the subject. 

Mr. John Gladstone had already been chairman of the West 
India Association when, in 1814, his name was closely associated 
with the trading carried on with the East Indies. The old 
monopoly was broken in that year ? and his firm was the first to 



Ancestry and Education. 



25 



send a private vessel to the ports so long under the control of 
the East India Company. Nor was ho progressive and enter- 
prising in matters relating to his business alone. It is interesting 
to trace in the father the liberal public spirit, the breadth of 
view, and the desire for the amelioration of the condition of 




Gladstone and His Sister (From a picture painted in 1811). 

every class, that have so long been manifested in the son. The 
fact that he addressed, with no mean eloquence, a meeting which 
was called in 1818 "to consider the propriety of petitioning Par- 
liament to take into consideration the progressive and alarming- 
increase in the crimes of forging and uttering forged notes of 
the Bank of England," may be thought only proper to the prud- 
ent and prominent business man, anxious to check the spread of 
an offence peculiarly troublesome to him and his associates. His 
activity in another matter, however, shows him to be warm- 
hearted as well as keen-sighted. It was by his efforts that, in 
1823, the Steamboat Act included a provision that each vessel 
should be obliged to carry a sufficient number of boats to accom- 
modate the passengers, in case of any accident j a simple enough 



26 Ancestry and Education. 

precaution it seems to us, but so neglected previous to this time 
that, in one case, a public packet-boat which was wrecked with 
nearly one hundred and fifty souls on board, had only one small 
shallop, twelve feet long, to convey the passengers and seamen to 
shore. It was also due to him that means were taken to enlist the 
general sympathy for the Greeks, when they were struggling for 
their independence; and he spoke most impressively at the meet- 
ing which was held for that purpose. 

These are but a few actions which show the character of the 
man. That he did not lack appreciation, is shown by the fact 
that a magnificent service of plate, consisting of twenty-eight 
pieces, was formally presented to him in the name of his fellow- 
townsmen in 1824 ; the inscription ran: " To John Gladstone, 
Esq., M. P., this service of plate was presented MDCCCXXIV, 
by his fellow-townsmen and friends, to mark their high sense of 
his successful exertions for trade and commerce, and in acknowl- 
edgment of his most important services rendered to the town of 
Liverpool." 

While probably not possessed of the scholarship which has en- 
abled the Premier to turn from the cares of state to enjoy Hom- 
er, Mr. Gladstone was well able to express his opinions on paper 
in such a way that men were glad to read them. His contribu- 
tions to the literature of the day have not survived, because they 
were from their very nature ephemeral ; but they had their share 
in molding the opinions of the men who made the laws by which 
England is now governed. 

This Mr. Gladstone was a member of Parliament for nine years 
in all, representing several boroughs at different times. For a 
portion of the time that he sat in the House of Commons, his son 
was a member of the same body ; and he heard the earliest efforts 
of that persuasive eloquence which has been able to make even a 
dry array of figures interesting. Partly out of recognition of his 
own services, partly as a compliment to his son, he was created 
a baronet in 1845, during the second administration of Sir Robert 
Peel. He died six years later, his title descending to his eldest 
son, Thomas. Sir Thomas Gladstone was as long a member of Par- 
liament, though completely overshadowed by his younger brother. 
He enjoyed the reflected glory of being frequently mistaken for 
the distinguished member of the family, so strong was the resem- 
blance between them; though, of course, it was only those who 
were comparative strangers who were liable to this error. A third 



Ancestry and Education. 2? 

brother was a captain in the army, then M. P.forPortarlington ; 
and a fourth was, like his father, a merchant of Liverpool — the 
- same to whom reference was made in the speech at the Collegi- 
ate Institute. Of the two sisters, neither was ever married. 

Sir John Gladstone's enormous wealth enabled him to make a 
handsome provision for each of his children during his lifetime, 
without crippling his own resources. Thus that son to whom na. 
ture had been most generous in her gifts of intellect was enabled 
to devote his time to the consideration of those questions which 
should occupy the mind of a statesman, without being compelled 
to enter the arena of that life in which bread must be won by 
hard and continuous labor. This advantage, we are taught by 
the example of others, is not entirely necessary to the devel- 
opment of genius; but even genius cannot afford to neglect any 
assistance which may be offered. 

In the year 1812, a general election was held, and in this Mr. 
John Gladstone took a keen interest. A Conservative in time of 
peace, he had become an ardent Tory, and supported Mr. Can- 
ning with all the warmth of enthusiasm. This eloquent orator had 
been before the public, as a member of the House of Commons, 
for almost twenty years ; and it was only five years after his first 
election that he had reached the summit of his reputation as a 
speaker, by his brilliant advocacy of the abolition of the slave 
trade, and his bitter sarcasms regarding the " Now Philosophy," 
as the doctrines of the French Revolutionists were styled. He 
had not been silent when the suspension of the habeas corpus act 
was moved and carried in the year 1794, and bills intended to 
suppress seditious meetings were hurried through Parliament; 
his eloquent speeches had been eagerly looked for in the days of 
the Irish Rebellion of 1798. A zealous adherent of Pitt, when that 
statesman went out of office he resigned, too, though his chief ad- 
vised him not to do so. The issue of the hour, in Canning's e}'es, 
was CatholicEmancipation, and the electioneering speeches which 
he made were full of it. This had been a darling scheme of Pitt's, 
ever since the Union; but George III. had been seized with 
qualms of conscience when the Ministry proposed such meas- 
ures, and pleaded his coronation oath as an insuperable bar to 
his royal assent. But now, though he was still nominally the 
sovereign, he was in reality but a helpless old man, imbecile, 
and verging upon that blindness and deafness which a little later 
cut him off from even so much communication with the world as 



28 



Ancestry and Education. 



his darkened intellect could comprehend. The Prince Regent had 
no coronation oath to consider, and probably no conscience; so 
that the reformers hoped from the carelessness of a bad man what 
the scruples of a weak man had denied them. 

At a meeting presided over by Mr. John Gladstone, Mr. Can- 
ning had been invited to stand for Liverpool. The leading Whig 
was young Henry Brougham, who had not yet been raised to 
the peerage under the title so much more familiar to us. A sort 
of coalition was formed, between the two political parties, by 
which Canning and Brougham were to be returned as colleagues ; 




Lord Brougham. 

but into this agreement one of the candidates refused to enter„ 
In one of the fits of perversity which too often marred his ca- 
reer, Brougham refused to be a party to this agreement, and 
cast in his lot with an ultra-Radical ; as the result of this action, 
he and his self-chosen colleague were both defeated, Canning and 
another Tory being returned. What was the case when the elec- 
tion was exciting in those days, we may infer from the fact that 
Brougham, in his memoirs, records that " two or three men were 
killed, but the town was quiet." 

This " quiet" election having taken place, and the results hav- 
ing been announced, the victors gave their enthusiasm the rein, 




THE TURKISH CRISIS-MR. GLADSTONE SPEAKING AT LIVERPOOL 



Ancestry and Education. 29 

and the successful candidates were chaired and carried in 
triumph through the streets. The procession halted before the 
house of Mr. Gladstone, who had been one of those most ardent- 
ly desirous of the election of Canning and Brougham j and from 
the balcony of this dwelling Mr. Canning addressed his constitu- 
ents. From the window looked some childish heads, the round 
eyes gazing wonderingly at the unwonted scene. One of the lit- 
tle ones was less than three years old at the time, but he assured 
admiring listeners, not many years ago, that he remembered the 
first election of Mr. Canning in Liverpool. This may fairly be 
ranked, then, as the earliest recollection of the distinguished man, 
the course of whose life we are now to trace ; and certainly the 
remembrance of Canning himself, at this and later times, never 
faded from his mind. Mr. Canning and the elder Gladstone were 
warm friends after this, and the son was early imbued with a 
deep admiration for the famous Tory. Perhaps it was this which 
in a large measure attached him to that party of which he was 
not only the "rising hope," but one of the chief ornaments for 
many years. 

The first school to which young William Ewart was sent was 
a small one near Liverpool, of which the venerable Archdeacon 
Jones was the head. He was six years old when he entered, 
and remained six years. Of his progress at this school we do 
not hear very flattering accounts. Said Dean Stanley : " There 
is a small school near Liverpool at which Mr. Gladstone was 
brought up before he went to Eton. A few years afterward an- 
other little boy who went to this school" (it is not hard to guess 
who) " and whose name I will not mention, called upon the old 
clergyman who was the head master. The boy was now a young 
man, and he said to the old clergyman : ' There is one thing in 
which I have never in the least degree improved since I was at 
school — the casting up of figures/ < Well', replied the master, 
it is very extraordinary that it should be so, because certainly no 
one could be a more incapable arithmetician at school than you 
were; but I will tell you a curious thing: when Mr. Gladstone 
was at the school, he was just as incapable at addition and sub- 
traction as you were ; now you see what he has become. He is 
one of the greatest of our financiers." 

The knowledge which a child acquires from his school-books 
is a trifle compared to that which he insensibly accumulates in a 
well ordered horoe 3 where his elders are thoughtful of Ui§ desjre 



SO Ancestry and Education. 

for knowledge. With a!l his business and other cares, Mr. John 
Gladstone found time to educate his son in the great questions 
of the day; and when the boy was but twelve years old, his 
father would discuss the measures which were then of import- 
ance, and teach him how to form intelligent opinions upon them. 
How much of the sagacity displayed in later life has been there- 
suit of this training, cannot be told. To use the words of one of 
his most careful and voluminous biographers : " Precocity is not 
always the happiest augury in a youth ; it too frequently betokens 
one of two things — either that the flame of genius which burns 
so brightly will be quickly extinguished for the lack of physical 
fuel, or that the quickness and intelligence of childhood will de- 
generate into mediocrity as manhood approaches. Mr. Gladstone 
was an exception to this rule, in so far that solidity of judgment 
appears to have accompanied perceptive and retentive powers of 
an unusual order. His genius was not of the purely conceptive 
and imaginative type, but he possessed an intellectual aptitude of 
a high quality, and was favored in addition with an exceptional 
amount of vital energy. 

In September, 1821, he was entered at Eton, where he remained 
until 1827. This great school, which, with Eugby, stands outin the 
mind of the average American reader as the type of English pub- 
lic schools, is a very different affair from institutions of a similar 
aim in our own country. About eleven hours are devoted to 
study each week. " No instruction is given in any branch of 
mathematical, physical, metaphysical, or moral science, nor in 
the evidences of Christianity. The only subjects which it is pro- 
fessed to teach are the Greek and Latin languages, as much di- 
vinity as can be gained from construing the Greek Testament, 
and reading a portion of Tomlino on the Thirty-nine Articles, 
and a little ancient and modern geography." Such is the testi- 
mony of no less an authority than the Edinburgh Eeview ; and as 
we read it, and recall the testimony of Archdeacon Jones record- 
ed above, we are involuntarily moved to ask where Mr. Glad- 
stone studied financiering to such an excellent advantage. 

Another question suggests itself : If they devote only eleven 
hours to school work at Eton (and in 1845, according to a pupil 
of that date, the time was even less than that), what do they 
do the rest of the + ime, aud how is the reputation of the school 
kept up? The Public Schools Commission investigated matters 
once, and Lord Morley was called as a witness. Asked whether 



Ancestry and Education. 31 

a boy would be iooked down upon at Eton for being industrious 
in school work, his lordship replied, with what seems to us a 
laughable naivete, "Not if he could do something else well." 

The system of fagging, with its manifold evils, has been well 
described by the author of " Tom Brown's Schooldays at Eug- 
by ;" and the scenes drawn from the life of another school are 
not inapplicable to Eton. But there were honorable exceptions, 
of course, in which the fags were not so badly treated ; and by 
one of these the future statesman profited, being his elder broth- 
er's fag. By the time that Thomas Gladstone had leftEton, Wil- 
liam was sufficiently high in rank to have a fag of his own ; and 
one who filled that position said, in after years, that he wished he 
could be certain that he had treated his own fags as well as he 
had been treated by Gladstone. 

There were but few honors to be won at Eton in those days, 
for the pupils were promoted by seniority after they had passed 
a certain stage, so that examinations, with their disappointments 
and triumphs, were not. The one reward for excellence consist- 
ed in being "sent up for good" on account of Latin or Greek 
verses; and this honor was won several times by young Glad- 
stone. 

The head master in those days was an exceedingly cruel little 
martinet. He was often more pleased with a sharp excuse than 
with a really good one ; this proved to be of material advantage to 
Gladstone on one occasion. He had been made "praspostor" of his 
form, and had neglected to report a boy who had come late. A 
birch was at once called for, and the head master addressed the 
delinquent official with words which may be translated into the 
speech of the day by the single sentence : "A public office is a 
public trust." The culprit listened to the harangue which ex- 
pressed this in many a grandiloquent phrase, and then excused 
himself with: " If you please, sir, my prsepostorship would have 
been an office of trust if I had sought it of my own accord, but it 
was forced upon me." His sharp wit saved him, and the boy of 
fourteen was victor in the wordy contest. 

Though, as has been remarked, the school at Eton did not do 
much toward educating the pupils there, they did a good deal in 
the way of educating themselves. One of the means which they 
employed for this purpose was the Eton Debating Society, of 
which our subject became a member in 1826; and which he 
aided much, by his own work, and by getting others interested. 



82 



Ancestry and Education. 



In the same form with Gladstone was Arthur Henry Hallam, 
the eldest son of the historian, and the friend whose death Ten- 




Eton School. 
nyson has made the suhject of In Memoriam; and the two were 
almost inseparable. It was to please Hallam that Gladstone re* 



Ancestry and 'Education. S3 

nOttnced those athletic sports in which he would otherwise have 
excelled, and devoted his leisure to long walks about the fields 
and Windsor Park. 

A visit which Canning paid to Eton in 1824, in the course of 
which he found time for an hour's talk with the son of his friend 
and supporter, doubtless did much toward establishing on a 
firmer basis that admiration for the brilliant statesman which 
was so noticeable in Gladstone's later years. The talk was upon 
the leading questions of the day; and the Minister of the Crown 
conversed with the schoolboy as with an equal in mind and ex- 
perence. His advice about the school work was in the tone of an 
elder brother, and was closely followed by his young admirer. 

Whoever has read Miss Edgeworth knows that at one time the 
students of Eton were accustomed to celebrate a festival pecu- 
liar to themselves, called Montem. Costumed in various colors, 
sometimes in imitation of historical characters or national dress- 
es, they would solicit contributions from visitors to support the 
" captain" during at least a portion of his Cambridge or Oxford 
course. At the "Montem" of 1826, Gladstone was in Greek cos- 
tume ; and was one of the " salt-bearers," as these collectors were 
called. It was the rule that the captain should pay, out of the 
sum thus collected, for all the damage that was done by the ram- 
pant schoolboys during the festival ; and Mr. Gladstone was one 
of the first pupils of the school who tried to keep such order 
that these damages would not melt all the salt. 

There had been several papers published at Eton before this 
time. Prominent among them were the Microcosm, in which 
Canning and Frere had given to the world the earliest scintil- 
lations of their later brilliancy; and the Apis Matina and the 
Miscellany, which had been enriched by the delicately finished 
products of Praed's genius. It was almost exclusively to the ef- 
forts of young Gladstone that another magazine was due — The 
Eton Miscellany. Of this he was the editor and the principal con- 
tributor from the date of its inception, in the summer of 1826, 
until he left the school. To the first volume he contributed 
thirteen articles, including a poem of two hundred and fifty lines 
on Richard Coeur de Lion. How far the general popularity of 
Scott at this time guided him to the selection of such a subject 
in this the most ambitious of his efforts, is a matter for debate; 
certainly the Wizard of the North was acknowledged as the fav- 
orite poet both of Gladstone and his friend Hallam. 



34 Ancestry and Education. 

To the second volume of the Eton Miscellany he contributed 
seventeen articles ; both these numbers of course representing 
separate contributions, and not editorials, introductions, etc. His 
pen name was Bartholomew Bouverie ; and this was the epitaph 
which he composed for himself as editor : 

Here lieth Bartle Bouverie ; 
A merry soul and quaint was he ; 
He lived for gain, lie wrote for pelf, 
Then took his pen and stabbed himself. 

Perhaps the most notable of his contributions is the tribute to 
Canning, written on the occasion of that statesman's premature 
death. He had died just when triumph was awaiting him. The 
aim of his labors for many years had been Catholic Emancipa- 
tion. We cannot pause here to describe the disabilities under 
which Catholics labored at this period. Those earlier and more 
oppressive laws, which forbade a communicant of the Roman 
Church the privilege of educating his own children, and gave his 
estate to the child who would profess himself a Protestant, had 
long ceased to be enforced ; but there were many respects in 
which the laws of the land were scarcely less unjust. Canning 
had made this the turning point of the campaign of 1812 • but the 
state of Europe worked against his plans. It was the old story; 
G-rattan had said, as early as 1782 : " England's weakness is Ire- 
land's strength." Conversely, the truth is the same. The Irish 
were obliged to wait for a threatened invasion of Napoleon's 
army before the frightened English Parliament would even prom- 
ise them this redress ; and the promise was not fulfilled soon. 

Canning's efforts in this direction had made him unpopular at 
court, and this disfavor was increased by the course which he 
took in regard to Queen Caroline's divorce. During the regency, 
Canning had shown himself no approver of the treatment which 
the Princess of Wales received from the royal roue whom she 
had married • and when matters came to a head upon the acces- 
sion of George IV. he tendered his resignation ; being openly 
opposed to any proceedings against her. The King, however, 
refused to accept it, since it would materially weaken the Cab- 
inet; and the indispensable Minister received full permission to 
hold aloof from all proceedings against the Queen. The same 
trouble being expected to absorb the attention of Parliament 
during the next session, he again tendered his resignation, which 
was accepted this time, and Mr. Peel appointed. 



Ancestry and Education. 35 

But the business of royal family quarrels settled, for the time 
at least, the old question of Catholic Emancipation came up. 
Hitherto, the statesman had been in advance of his time j the 
time was now catching up with the statesman. The bill received 
greater majorities than ever before in the Commons, though it 
failed to pass the Lords. 9 

The death of Lord Castlereagh in 1822 made Canning absolute- 
ly indispensable in the Cabinet, and the Prime Minister request- 
ed the permission of the King to make the appointment. After 
considerable argument on the subject, the King wrote a letter, 
which he requested might be shown to Mr. Canning, and which 
he intended to be very gracious. " The King is aware," the let- 
ter ran, "that the brightest jewel in his crown is the power of 
extending grace and favor to a subject who may have incurred 
his displeasure." Canning was duly shown this letter, and wrote 
one in reply which was not at all gracious, and which he in turn 
requested might be shown to the King. He was with difficulty 
restrained from sending it, and the breach was healed. From this 
time we do not find that George IV. failed to rate the Minister 
at his true worth. The only exception to this was in 1827, when 
the death of the Premier made it necessary to form a new Min- 
istry. This was not an easy matter. The King was bent upon 
forming an anti-Catholic Administration j Canning would not 
serve in such a Ministry. When his Majesty gave this idea up, 
and attempted to form a Cabinet on some other basis, there was 
still trouble, for Canning and Peel both seemed necessary. But 
Canning would not serve under Peel, and Peel would not serve 
under Canning. After two months had passed, however, the 
King decided that Canning, even with his favorite measure, was 
the man whom he must have ; and the apostle of Catholic Eman- 
cipation became Prime Minister of England. 

But this did not bring peace to the political world. The Duko 
of Wellington so bitterly opposed the appointment of Canning 
that he resigned, not only the civil office that he held, but his- 
post as commander-in-chief of the British army ; and every 
measure which the new Government brought forward was most 
bitterly opposed by " the Duke" in the House of Lords, and by 
his lieutenant, Peel, in the Commons. Harassed by such oppos- 
ition, and conscious that the King entertained no very great lik 
ing for him, the lot of the Prime Minister can hardly have been a 
pleasant one. He kept bravely on, however, and prepared his plan 



36 



Ancestry and Education. 



of campaign for the next session of Parliament. But a severe 
cold told heavily upon a system already broken by hard work 
and anxiety, and before the session of 1827 opened he was dead. 
Since his election in 1812, if not before, Mr. Canning had been 
a frequent visitor at Seaforth House, as the Gladstone residence 
at Liverpool was called ; and the elder Gladstone was without 
doubt a leader of the popular enthusiasm for him. The great 
Tory had been returned four successive times from that borough, 
and always by handsome majorities. The Canning Club was one 
of the most prosperous organizations of the kind to be found in 




m 



Duke of Wellington {at the Period of the Battle of Waterloo). 

the large, progressive, commercial city. "Was it any wonder that 
the young student at Eton, distinguished as he had been by such 
marks of the statesman's favor, should share the enthusiasm of 
his fellow-townsmen, led as they were by his own father, its ob- 
ject a man whom his earliest recollections pictured as ruling 
men by the magic of his words? And when he compared ancient 
and modern genius, is it any wonder that he should grow elo- 




MR. AND MRS. GLADSTONE ON THE CELEBRATION OF 
THEIR GOLDEN WEDDING 



Ancestry and Education. 37 

quent over the object of his boyish admiration, and award the 
palm to the genius of the time ? We have space for the perora 
tion only : 

" It is for those who revered him in the plenitude of his mer- 
idian glory to mourn over him in the darkness of his premature 
extinction; to mourn over the hopes that are buried in his grave, 
and the evils that arise from his withdrawing from the scene of 
life. Surely, if eloquence never excelled and seldom equalled, 
if an expanded mind, and judgment whose vigor was only par- 
alleled by its soundness, if brilliant wit, if a glowing imagina- 
tion, if a warm heart and unbending firmness, could have 
strengthened the frail tenure, and prolonged the momentary en- 
durance of human existence, that man had been immortal. But 
nature could endure no longer. Thus had Providence ordained, 
that inasmuch as the intellect is more brilliant, it shall be more 
short-lived ; as its sphere is more expanded, more swiftly is it 
summoned away. Lest we should give to man the honor due 
to God, lest we should exalt the object of our admiration into a 
divinity for our worship, He who calls the mourner and the 
weary to eternal rest hath been pleased to remove him from our 
eyes. . . . The decrees of inscrutable wisdom are unknown to us-, 
but if ever there was a man for whose sake it was meet to in- 
dulge the kindly though frail feelings of our nature, for whom 
the tear of sorrow was both prompted by affection and dictated 
by duty, that man was George Canning." 

Whatever be the faults of this passage, it will compare favor- 
ably with the majority of schoolboy productions ; and perhaps it 
will not surprise the reader who has not been told the author's 
name to learn that the boy of eighteen afterward became one of 
the most eloquent members of the British Parliament. We discern 
already the indications of that fluency which his enemies have 
sometimes styled verbosity; that wonderful flow of words, 
which piles up invective after invective, argument upon argu- 
ment, until the whole becomes unanswerable. 

We have already mentioned Hallam as one of Gladstone's con- 
temporaries at Eton. Next to him, in the estimation of the stu- 
dent in whom we are specially interested, came George A. Sel- 
wyn, afterward a bishop; and he who, as Sir Francis Hastings 
Do3 T le, became Professor of Poetry at the University of Oxford. 

Though the esteem of the head master of this time does not 
seem to be worth wishing for, it was possessed in large measure 



88 Ancestry and Education. 

by the pupil who could outwit him in argument, and who never 
betrayed fear of his tyranny. It was won mainly by 3 oung 
Gladstone's persistence in study, and retained by that and other 
qualities. Alluding to the fact that Mr. Gladstone the elder had 
been undecided whether to send his second son to Eton or the 
Charterhouse, Dr. Keats once said : 

" That would have been a pity for both of us, Gladstone— for 
you and for me." 

During his year in the Sixth Form, or highest class of the 
school, Mr. Gladstone became President of the Debating Society 
and the acknowledged head of the school in literary attain 
ments and oratory. His home training had indeed been such as 
to fit him for this standing in a peculiar degree. All the chil- 
dren of the family were accustomed to argue with each other 
every point that admitted of argument; it was this training that 
has made him such a master of the art of persuasion. The argu- 
ments were all perfectly good-humored ; but they were not ad- 
vanced rashly, or abandoned without conviction. Nor were they 
averse to acknowledging themselves beaten when such was felt 
to be the case. It was early recognized that the second son pos- 
sessed the greatest powers of persuasion. On one occasion, an old 
Scotch servant was directed to hang a certain picture, but the 
side of the room on which it should be placed was not specified. 
Master Willie, as he was called at home, and his sister, Miss 
Mary, proceeded to discuss the question, each choosing a dif- 
erent place as the one to be preferred. The feminine tongue 
was the longer, or else her enemy was too gallant to insist upon 
fighting it to the end, even with his sister; for he was silent af- 
ter a while, though evidently not convinced. The servant hung 
the picture as Miss Mary wished, then drove a nail onthe oppos- 
ite wall. 

" What are you doing that for, Sandy V demanded the young 
lady. 

" Aweel, Miss, that'll do to hang the picture on when ye'll 
have coom roond to Maister Willie's opeenion." 

We have already spoken of the lack of mathematical training 
at Eton. No arithmetic beyond the subject of division was taught 
by the master, who was allowed to give his lessons out of school 
hours, as extras, to those who particularly wished to excel ; and 
for many years after Mr. Gladstone left the school this state of 
things continued. While the requirements at Cambridge were 



Ancestry and Education. 39 

such that this would have been very insufficient preparation, in- 
volving the necessity of studying under a private tutor, it was 
different at Oxford. It seems almost incredible that during the 
present century it was quite possible for a man to take his de- 
gree at this ancient seat of learning, and yet have no more knowl- 
edge of mathematics than the boy in our own primary schools. 
Yet so it was ; and if young Gladstone had been content simply 
to take the classical course at Oxford he might have gone direct 
to the university. His home training, however, had given him 
habits of thoroughness with which this was inconsistent ; and for 
nearly two years he read with a private tutor, Dr. Turner, after- 
ward the Bishop of Calcutta. When he did enter Oxford in 1829, 
he knew almost as much mathematics as the average Cambridge 
sophomore. 

His career at school had given him the reputation of uncom- 
mon ability, and because he was regarded as a young man of ex- 
ceptional promise he was nominated to a studentship at Christ 
Church. This brought him an income of about £lfd per annum. 
The scholarships are now given to those who exo d in the com- 
petitive examinations, and it is not usual for thfvse who are in 
affluent circumstances to compete for them ; but fifty or sixty 
years ago, they were at the disposal of the Dean, and were not 
often bestowed upon those who really had need of them. 

The student impressed himself strongly upon the minds of his 
comrades. It was his intense conviction of being in the right 
which made him so persevering, not to say stubborn, in an argu- 
ment ; and thus assured him the victory over those who did 
not ponder very deeply on their opinions, and hence were not 
prepared to defend them vigorously when attacked. Yet one of 
his tutors has borne evidence to his readiness to acknowledge 
that he had been in the wrong, when he really thought that it 
was so. Thus early were the traits developed, which made it 
possible for him to be first a Tory, then the most progressive of 
Liberals ; first to permit the use of coercion by a member of his 
Ministry, as a means of ruling the Irish; then to advocate the 
extension of home rule to that country. 

It was a thorough knowledge of his nature, as displayed at 
college, which enabled one of his old college friends to say, forty 
years afterward: "You must know Gladstone to understand how 
much it costs him to give up any clause in a bill which he has 
framed. He hates compromise as a concession of good to evil. 



40 



Ancestry and Education. 



He cannot acknowledge half truths or admit the value of half 
good. "What grieves him is not the humiliation of being beaten 
by his systematic foes, but the misery of having failed to con- 
vince those who profess to be his friends and to let themselves 
be guided by him; and again, when he surrenders a particle of 
what he considers right, he is at war with his restive conscience, 
asking himself whether he was morally justified in yielding to 
serve party ends." 




Ch?-ist Church College, Oxford. 

It was small wonder that a youth with such abilities and such 
characteristics should soon become a notable figure in the Ox- 
ford Union, the foremost literary and debating society of the 



Ancestry and Education. 41 

university. This association had heen founded in 1823, chiefly by 
Balliol men, but by 1829 Christ Church and Oriel Colleges furnish- 
ed a majority of the members. It possessed a resj)ectable library 
and a well-furnished reading room. Something of the earnest- 
ness of the members may be inferred from the fact that, until 
1826, proposals to buy the "Waverly Novels and other works of 
fiction were resolutely thrown out. The debates were principally 
on subjects connected with the conduct of national affairs ; and 
the young students gravely advised and directed the Ministers 
of the Crown, as Columbus commanded the sun to hide his face 
from the recusant red men; that there was an eclipse, history re- 
cords; and sometimes the British Empire was ruled in accord- 
ance with the ideas of the Oxford Union; but the command was 
probably the reason in one case as much as in the other. 

It is curious to note the stand which the embryo statesman took 
upon the questions of the day. Like a true Tory, he was vio- 
lently opposed to the question of Parliamentary Reform, which 
was then the subject uppermost in the minds of all concerned 
with public affairs ; and spoke in the Union with considerable 
ability upon this side of the question. This speech is of consid- 
erable importance, considered as a step in his career; for it pro- 
duced such an impression upon the young Earl of Lincoln, the 
eldest son of the Duke of Newcastle, that he wrote home to his 
father : " A man has uprisen in Israel." The young nobleman's 
admiration for his fellow-student had begun some time before 
this, and continued- strong as ever for many years afterward; it 
was the means of exciting the interest of his father, one of the 
most powerful Tories of the day; and was the reason why Mr. 
Gladstone was invited to stand for the duke's pocket-borough of 
Newark. 

For the present, however, we have but to deal with his uni- 
versity life. The debate upon the relative excellences of Byron 
and Shelley, an inter-university contest to which Cambridge 
challenged Oxford, took place while Gladstone was in his fresh- 
man year, and therefore not eligible to more than a probation- 
ary membership. Though debarred the privilege of speaking in 
this notable debate, he was accorded the honor of a place upon 
the reception committee ; for his reputation for hospitality was 
as great as for scholarship. 

The offices of secretary and president of the Union were con- 
ferred upon him at a later period j but all his oratorical triumphs 



42 Ancestry and Education. 

were not in its rooms. He became the founder of another de- 
bating society, which seems to have included only a few special 
friends as its members. This club was called the "Weg," from the 
initials of its founder, and its assemblies were well known for 
their brilliancy. 

The leader of the "Weg was regarded as the most religious 
man of his set. He was what was called an " enquirer after 
truth" in those days ; and as such, he was a fairly regular at- 
tendant upon church, with frequent visits to the chapels of the 
Dissenters. He was untiring in his efforts to induce his fellow- 
students to go with him to hear the University Sermons, preach- 
ed Sunday afternoons; and one unlucky occasion, when he yield- 
ed to the heat and prosiness of the preacher, furnished Doyle 
with an unfailing retort for future invitations of the kind. 
" Thank you," the future poet would say to the future states- 
man, " I can sleep as well in my own chair." 

He went up for his degree at the Michaelmas term of 1831. 
Moderations had not then been instituted, and the students were 
utterly ignorant as to whether their attainments were anything 
near the mark, until the final examinations were held. An under- 
graduate's scholarship was never tested until the time came at 
which he tried for his degree. It was therefore with some ner- 
vousness about the result that Mr. Gladstone entered upon this 
test; and when he went home for the Christmas holidays, with- 
out having learned anything definite about the examination, he 
was decidedly anxious. Though it be not in mortals to command 
success, he had deserved it; and in this case desert was reward- 
ed. He was among the forty-seven who took a "first-class" in 
classics, and among the five who achieved the same distinction 
in mathematics. He had thus the distinction of a " double first 
class," an honor which had been first won by Sir Eobert Peel. 
"The world lies at the feet of first-class men." Everything now 
combined to insure his success in political life — wealth, position, 
influential friends, all that could be wished for were given to him 
who so richly deserved them by his abilities. 

What was the effect of his university training upon the mind 
and the after life of the student? For unless this be shown the 
record becomes a mere gratification of idle curiosity. Like the 
Conservatives of the day, he had dreaded innovation, and had 
seen clearly the evils which follow in her train. That these evils 
were mere visionary ones, does not matter; he had become im-- 



Ancestry and Education. 43 

bued with the ideas, so prevalent there, and indeed in strict ac- 
cordance with those of his father and his father's famous friend, 
which considered any confidence in the people as only too like- 
ly to lead to a repetition, in London, of the horrors perpetrated 
in Paris in the days of Louis XVI. His admiration of Canning, 
and his education at Oxford, were two mighty barriers between 
him and that party of which he has since become the acknowl- 
edged and beloved chief. But let us hear what he has himself 
said upon the subject, in a speech delivered at the opening of the 
Palmerston Club in Oxford, in 1878: 

" I trace in the education of Oxford of my own time one grea\ 
defect. Perhaps it was my own fault; but I must admit that 1 
did not learn, while at Oxford, that which I have learned since, 
viz.: to set a due value on the imperishable and inestimable prin 
ciples of human liberty. The temper which, I think, too much 
prevailed in academic circles was,' that liberty was regarded 
with jealousy, and fear could not be wholly dispensed with .... 1 
think that the principle of the Conservative party is jealousy of 
liberty and of the people, only qualified by fear; but I think 
that the policy of the Liberal party is trust in the people, only 
qualified by prudence. I can only assure you, gentlemen, that 
now I am in front of extended popular privileges, I have no fear 
of those enlargements of the Constitution which seem to be ap- 
proaching. On the contrary, I hail them with desire. I am not 
in the least degree conscious that I have less reverence for anti- 
quity, for the beautiful, good, and glorious charges which our 
ancestors have handed down to us as a patrimony to our race, 
than I had in other days when I held other political opinions. I 
have learned to set the true value upon human liberty, and in 
whatever I have changed, there, and there only, has been the ex- 
planation of the change." 

Such is the explanation which, standing upon the threshold of 
threescore and ten, he made upon the actions and opinions of 
the student of twenty-two. 



CHAPTER II. 

THE BEGINNING OF PUBLIC LIFE. 

Interest iu Political Questions — Reaction After the War — Destitution of the 
Colliers — Seats in Parliament Bought and Sold — How Elections were 
Conducted — Duke of Wellington as Prime Minister — Plan of Reform- 
Fury of the Tory Peers — Address to the Electors at Newark — Mr. Glad- 
stone Elected to Parliament — The Slavery Question — Eloquent Speeches — 
Becomes Identified with Great Public Questions — Rising Star in the Polit- 
ical Firmament. 

^TJRING the Spring of 1831 Mr. Gladstone took an active 
interest in political questions. Among other proofs of 
this, we find an account of a Reform meeting published 
in a paper of the period, written by the young graduate; in 
which he showed that the vast crowd there present was not to 
be taken as an indication of the popularity of the movement. 
He was not backward in assailing the characters of those who 
were active at this meeting, as he deemed to be evidenced by 
their previous standing and their performance on the occasion. 

During the summer of that year, the young gentleman went 
to the continent, where he expected to enjoy an extended tour. 
He was recalled to England during that very summer, however. 
One of the most important measures of the century had just 
passed the two Houses, and received the unwilling assent of the 
King. But the Reform Bill of 1832 is too important a measure 
in itself, and as a forerunner of what came after it, to be light- 
ly passed over in the life of an English statesman who, like 
Gladstone, sat in the first Reform Parliament, and was active in 
those later efforts for Reform which grew out of the liberty as- 
sured by the first law. 

As long as the country was at war, the Conservatives natural- 
ly held the reins of government; it was not safe to make con- 
cessions to the people in the face of the outrages perpetrated by 
the French; the monarchy would be overturned, social order 
destroyed, and general pandemonium ensue, should such encour- 

44 




HER MAJESTY QUEEN VICTORIA 



The Beginning of Public Life. 45 

agement be given. True, the Bill for Catholic Emancipation 
had been carried, but that was an act of justice, long-delayed, in- 
deed, but thoroughly different from such a purely political 
measure as increasing the number of electors for the members of 
Parliament. There was no real representation of the people of 
England at that time; and it must be remembered that they had 
never had any rights, aside from the landed proprietors. To 
go back to the very corner-stone of English liberty, Magna 
Charta itself, that instrument protected the barons against the 
tyranny of the king; but there was no human power which 
could protect the wage-earners against the tyranny of the bar- 
ons. Hampden upheld the rights of the Commons against 
Charles I., but those Commons were, like himself, men of large 
property and high standing. In 1886, there were thirteen work- 
ingmen in Parliament; not agitators, who lived off the contribu- 
tions of their misguided disciples, and never did a day's honest 
work in their lives, but the regulation " horny-handed sons of 
toil," who by their skill had first gained the respect of their 
fellows, and retained it by their sterling good sense; supported 
by the trades unions, it is true (for they must live), they gave to 
the good of the community the time which they had formerly 
devoted to the manual labor which providod food and shelter 
for their families ; but were in no sense adventurers. Such were 
the facts in 1886 ; but in 1826 such a prophecy would have been 
looked upon as the wildest dream of an unscrupulous revolu- 
tionist; and it was not rendered possible for forty years later. 

But when the war was over, the reaction began to set in. It 
began with the abolition of most of the sinecures which had been 
held by the great nobles at enormous salaries. Having cut off from 
the list those offices where there was nothing to do, the reform- 
ers next considered those where the work was done chiefly by 
deputies; and the practice of allowing officers so to discharge 
their duties was to a considerable extent abolished. Religious 
tests were done away with ; Catholics might sit in Parliament, 
Dissenters might hold any kind of civil or political office, Jews 
were eligible as civic officers of London. The criminal code, 
too, had been changed, and the death penalty limited to those 
great crimes which are now punished by the extreme sentence 
of the law. All these changes, while they seem to us to em- 
brace only those principles which must rule the intereourse be* 
tween man and man, were then real reforms, 



46 The Beginning of Public Life. 

The people had tried to make themselves heard, but had not 
succeeded. " In 1817 some starving colliers of the North had 
thought of making a pilgrimage to the house of the Prince Re- 
gent in London, in the hope of being allowed to tell their tale 
of misery to him, and induce him to do something on their be- 
half. Following the example of these poor fellows, a large body 
of Manchester workingmen resolved that they would walk to 
London, make known their grievances to the authorities theie, 
and ask for Parliamentary Reform as one means of improving 
their condition." Destitute as they were, the}'" had no money to 
spend upon this melancholy pilgrimage for anything but the 
food which was an absolute necessity; and each carried with 
him his blanket, that he might not be without a bed at night. 
When this became known among those who had never felt the 
hardships of poverty, the foot-sore and shelterless travelers were 
styled the "Blanketeers." But it was useless to make such an ap- 
peal to the Prince Regent or his Ministry. The men in author- 
ity saw nothing pitiful in this array of hard-working men, ask- 
ing to be allowed the bare right of living by their own labor, 
for such a privilege was what they hoped Reform would bring 
them. They were rioters, revolutionary, seditious; and the 
soldieiy posted along the roads which they traveled arrested 
some, who were brought to trial and committed to prison ; while 
the rest were turned back homeward, to endure as well as they 
could the old burdens. 

The Peterloo Massacre took place about two years after the 
journey of the Blanketeers; and these are but specimens of the 
tyranny which was practised upon Englishmen of that day, un- 
der the disguise of a representative government. It seems in- 
credible that such abuses should have arisen in a system origin- 
ally intended as a safeguard of the liberties of the subject; but 
it must be remembered that the sovereign alone had the power to 
summon a borough or county to return a representative to Par- 
liament; such a call once given, the member was elected time af- 
ter time; in many cases, the original population had dwindled 
to a mere handful, and in some it was altogether gone; while, 
on the other hand, the great manufacturing centers, which had 
grown up of late years, were wholly unrepresented. Two-thirds 
of the House of Commons consisted of members from "rotten 
boroughs, " as they were called ; boroughs in which the voters, if 
there were any, were ao completely under the domination of the 



The Beginning of Public Life. 



47 



lord of the soil that the election was a mere farce, in which they 
had no power to act but as the owner of the seat dictated. Old 
Sarum, a town from which Salisbury had drawn all the popula- 
\ tion, still sent one member to Parliament, as it had done in the days 
when it was a nourishing town ; G-atton, which hud but seven 
electors, had two representatives in the councils of the nation. 
Ludgershall, in Wiltshire, was, like Old Sarum, without inhabi- 
tants, but with a Parliamentary franchise. The owner of thisseat 
elected himself to Parliament, but was so far sensible of the in- 





The Uninhabited Borough of Old Sarum. 



justice of his own rights that he told his colleagues, when the 
question of Reform came before the House: "Gentlemen, I 
am the patron of Ludgershall, I am the constituency of Ludger- 
shall, and I am the member for Ludgershall ; but in all three ca- 
pacities I mean to vote for the disfranchisement of Ludgershall/' 
Nor was this all. Not only did the owners of the seats return 
the members in whom they took a personal interest, or whom 
they hoped to bind to themselves politically, but when one of 
these fortunate individuals had no special candidate in view, he 
had no hesitation in disposing of his property to the best ad- 
vantage. Seats were not only often bought and sold — all the re- 
form in the world does not seem to be able to prevent that, in 
England or elsewhere— but they were publicly advertised for 



48 The Beginning of Public Life. 

sale. Elections lasted for fifteen days, in some cases — it had beeti 
necessary to limit their duration to that length of time by a law 
passed in 1784 — and the whole period was given up to the most 
riotous debauchery in the counties and boroughs where there 
were still a respectable number of electors. Such was the state 
of aifairs in England; and in Scotland and Ireland, incredible as 
it may seem, it was even worse. 

The project of Parliamentary Reform was one which had for 
many years been in the minds of statesmen. The elder Pitt had 
brought it forward, but the successful resistance of the American 
colonies to the power of a non-representative Parliament made 
such schemes unpopular for a number of years. The public ten- 
dency to Conservatism caused by the American Revolution had 
but begun to set the other way, when the French Revolution 
again turned it, and men once more determined that it would not 
do to make bad worse. The Duke of Wellington, in particular, 
was a determined opponent of the question, and affirmed that he 
believed such a concession to the masses would bring about a 
civil war. With a solemnity which gave the words of the great 
soldier, the military idol of the people, a depth of meaning 
which no other man's could have had, he told his listeners that 
to save his country from one month of civil war, he would will- 
ingly lay down his life. Such was the earnest belief of many 
wise statesmen. But there were others more in sympathy with 
the spirit of the times, and these had never ceased to plead the 
cause in which they so earnestly believed. One of these was that 
Earl Grey to whose lofty eloquence Macaulay has borne testi- 
mony; another was his son-in-law, Lord Durham, by whose 
masterful mind the somewhat slower nature of the elder noble 
was often directed ; then there was Henry Brougham, who had 
not yet been created a peer, but whose restless, untiring energy 
made him incapable of Conservatism. But foremost of all, in 
the earnestness of his efforts, the untiring patience with which 
he worked for the advancement of the measure, and the powers 
which he brought to the contest, was Lord John Russell. No 
man, without genius, has ever so impressed himself upon the 
history of his age. Clear-sighted, strong-willed, with undevia- 
ting principles, it was the sole advantage which the system of 
electing the members of Parliament which prevailed at that time 
possessed, that it provided for the training and advancement, 
in their early youth, of such men as he was. 



m 



The Beginning of Public Life. 



43 



At last ah event which did more for the Eeform than any other 
could have done, occurred. This was the death of George IV., 
which took place June 26, 1830. It had long been tacitly under- 
stood that as long as the " First Gentleman in Europe" was 
alive, it was useless to think of bettering the condition of his un- 
fortunate subjects. But William IV. had been popular in his 
youth, and longed to have that state of affairs restored. Perhaps 
it would be more just to say that he seems to have wished, with 
all the earnestness of which he was capable, to be a good king. 
At any rate, his people thought that his accession was a step for- 
ward in the cause of Reform. 

The Duke of Wellington was Prime Minister at the time of 
this change. His Ministry had indeed passed the Catholic Eman- 
cipation Bill, but it was gen- 
erally acknowledged that 
they had not done this be- 
cause they had recognized the 
justice of the measure, but be- 
cause they had been convinced 
that it would not be safe to de- 
lay it any longer. The reform 
question had reached that 
stage at this time. Added to 
this, matters in France were 
having their effect upon Eng- 
lish politics, as they have al- 
ways had, sooner or later. 
The brother of Louis XVI. 
had been compelled to abdi- 
cate, and the Orleans branch 
of the royal family had been 
called to the throne. This 
change had resulted from the 
refusal of the French Ministry to consider questions which were 
forced upon their attention by the people ; the English Ministry 
took the lesson to heart. 

But Wellington denied that the distress which existed in the 
country was general; and even if it were, he refused to bo con- 
vinced that Reform was a cure for it, or indeed anything but 
an evil. The Tory Ministry grew more and more unpopular, and 
at last was compelled to resign. Earl Grey was his successor, 

4 




William IV. 



50 The Beginning of Public Life. 

and most of the men who had long been prominent in the cause 
of .Reform were in his cabinet. Brougham was mad-e Lord Chan- 
cellor; Melbourne, Stanley (afterwards Lord Derby), Plunkett, 
and Durham, were also chosen for this honor. Lord John Rus- 
sell was in office, but not in the Cabinet. One member of the 
Government, Lord Althorp, possessed the confidence of the 
House in a remarkable degree. On one occasion he was replying 
to an opponent whose arguments had been very plausible. " I 
do not now recollect," he said, " the reasons which prove his ob- 
jections to be groundless ; but I know that those reasons were 
perfectly satifactory to my own mind." And the House, with a 
devotion seldom, if ever, paralleled, took Lord Althorp's word 
for it, and gave a large majority against his opponent. 

Lord John Russell was commissioned to draw up a plan to be 
submitted to the House ; for it was understood that this Ministry 
was appointed for the special purpose of carrying out some Re- 
form measure. This was duly submitted to the Premier, and a 
bill drawn up in accordance with his modifications of the 
draught. 

While the author of the plan of Reform did not, as he tells us 
in his own work on the " The English Government and Consti- 
tution," think it well to make any changes which could possibly 
be avoided, it was necessary to make this measure complete in 
itself ; to leave no room for their enemies to say that they were 
only playing at Reform. But the secret was carefully kept, and 
until the actual introduction of the Bill into Parliament, its 
enemies did not know the nature of the measure which they 
would have to fight. They had supposed that Old Sarum and 
Gatton would be struck from the list; they felt sure that Man- 
chester and Birmingham would be added to it ; but as Lord John, 
who introduced the Bill, proceeded with his speech, and the 
names of sixty boroughs were given, as the ones which it was pro- 
posed to leave without representation, and forty-seven which 
were to have but one member each, the Tories began to feel 
that all breaches within their party must be forgotten, in 
fighting this common foe, Reform. Seven nights of debate fol- 
lowed In the House of Commons and at the close of the 
seventh, one member remarked that no speaker had expressed 
himself as opposed to all Reform " a remarkable change," com- 
ments Cooke, in his "History of Party." The bill was defeated at 
last, the opposition having a majority of eight ; and the king dis- 



The Beginning of Public JLife. 51 

solved Parliament. It was well that he did so ; for the Ministry 
must have resigned, after a division and defeat on the main ob- 
ject which they advocated; and that would in all probability have 
involved a popular rising like that of the first Eevolution in 
France. 

If the Tories did not hesitate to use all the influence which 
they possessed, the Whigs were in the van with them. True, the 
Whigs, or Liberals, as they began to be more generally called, 
owned but few boroughs, compared with their opponents ; but 
bribery was a powerful force with many of the electors, and they 
did not hesitate to fight the devil with fire. Then, too, the electors, 
in many cases, cast off" their former allegiance, and defied the 
power to which they had so long been subject. The result was 
that when the new Parliament met, and the Bill was once more 
submitted, the Ministry had a majority of 109; not fifty mem- 
bers of the minority, says the eminent authority above quoted, 
that were not directly interested in the result, as members for 
disfranchised boroughs. 

But the measure was not yet a law ; it must pass the House 
of Lords. "What will the Lords do?" was the question in ev- 
ery mouth, echoed in one of the most powerful pamphlets 
which proceeded from the pen of Brougham; while Macaulay 
drew solemn warnings from the example of the French nobil- 
ity, who had been swept away, as he declared, " because they 
had no sympathy with the people." Earl Grey was the first to 
speak upon the question. There was no need for him to argue 
in favor of Reform ; that even the Tories were willing to ac- 
knowledge now; but a long debate followed, and the Bill was 
finally rejected. The Commons passed a vote of confidence, 
and the king prorogued Parliament, that the Bill might be 
again introduced. In the meanwhile the Lords received many 
warnings of what was in store for them if they persisted. The 
Duke of Wellington could not appear on the streets of London 
without being insulted; a London mob broke all the windows 
on one side of the palace which had been the reward of his 
services to the country ; Lord Londonderry was struck sense- 
less from his horse by a volley of stones ; Nottingham Castle, 
the residence of the Duke of Newcastle, was burned; with ev- 
erywhere gatherings of angry men, demanding the rights of 
freemen. Parliament met again in December, 1831; the Bill 
again passed the Commons, and the second reading passed the 



52 The Beginning of Public Life. 

Lords by a majority of nine. But this was not sufficient to in- 
sure its final success, and the Premier demanded, as a last resort, 
the power of creating a sufficient number of peers to insure its 
success. It was refused; he resigned; the king sent for the 
Duke of "Wellington, and commissioned him to form a Ministry. 
" The Duke," as he was called par excellence, essayed the task ; 
but Sir Robert Peel would have nothing to do with the matter, 
and without his assistance the Duke could not prevail upon a 
single man to accept office in such a Ministry. As he could not 
well do all himself, he resigned, and Grey was restored, with the 
power which he had demanded. 

The Tory peers were furious, but helpless. One of them, when 
he learned what had been done, arose and left the House. Others 
continued their personal attacks upon the Premier; but it was 
all useless. On the 4th of June, 1882, the Reform Bill passed, re- 
ceived the assent of the Sovereign, and became the law of the land. 

It is because the first Parliament elected after the passage of 
this famous measure was the first in which Mr. Gladstone sat, 
that we have devoted so much space to its consideration. The 
history of a statesman must include at least something of the 
history of the country during the time that he is active in her 
councils; sometimes, as in the present case, this history must ex- 
tend still farther back ; for, as we have seen, and shall see, the 
political creed of Gladstone was largely influenced by his admir- 
ation for a statesman whose life closed just as the ardent admirer 
entered upon manhood. 

Mr. Gladstone was an intimate friend of the young Earl of Lin- 
coln, the son of the Duke of Newcastle. That high-born oppon- 
ent of Reform had demanded of the Reformers : "Have I not a 
right to do as I like with my own ?" The question of course re- 
ferred to the boroughs of which he was the patron; and passed 
into a political maxim. The new law decided the answer — that 
the boroughs were no longer his own but the property of a con- 
siderably increased number of electors, whose franchises were 
based on a property qualification much smaller than such a re- 
quirement had been under the old order of things. But His 
Grace had not accepted the answer, and resolved that he would 
still have the disposal of his borough of Newark. Accordingly, 
he invited his son's friend to stand for it. It was this invitation 
which cut Mr. Gladstone's continental tour short; he hurried 
back to England, to make his canvass. 




THE LAST SPEECH IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
AS PRIME MINISTER 



The Beginning of Public Life. 53 

The country was in a state of feverish expectation. What 
would be the composition of the first Reformed House of Com- 
mons ? The Whigs looked for an immense majority, the Tories 
shook their heads and prophesied dreadful things. The last of 
September saw the young candidate busily canvassing the bor- 
ough j a little later, his first election address was issued, which, 
as it was the first public utterance of the man who for more than 
fifty years has been a prominent figure in the English Parlia- 
ment, we append in full : 

Clinton Arms, Newark, Oct. 9, 1832. 
To the Worthy and Independent Electors of the Borough of Newark : 

" Having now completed my canvass, I think it now my duty as 
well to remind you of the principles on which I have solicited 
your votes, as freely to assure my friends that its result has 
placed the result beyond a doubt. I have not requested. your 
favor on the ground of adherence to the opinions of any man or 
party, further than such adherence can be fairly understood from 
the conviction I have not hesitated to avow, that we must watch 
and resist that unenquiring and indiscriminating desire for 
change amongst us, which threatens to produce, along with par- 
tial good, a melancholy preponderance of mischief, which, I am 
persuaded, would aggravate beyond computation the deep-seated 
evils of our social state, and the heavy burthens of our industrial 
classes ; which, by disturbing our peace, destroys confidence, and 
strikes at the root of prosperity. Thus it has done already ; and 
thus, we must therefore believe, it will do. 

" For the mitigation of these evils, we must, I think, look not 
only to particular measures, but to the restoration of sounder 
general principles. I mean especially that principle on which 
alone the incorporation of Religion with the State in our Con- 
stitution can be defended ; that the duties of governers are strict- 
ly and peculiarly religious j and that legislatures, like individ- 
uals, are bound to carry throughout their acts the spirit of the 
high truths they have acknowledged. Principles are now array- 
ed against our institutions ; and, not by truckling nor by tempor- 
ising, not by oppression nor corruption, but hy principles they 
must be met. 

"Among their first results should be a sedulous and special at- 
tention to the interests of the poor, founded upon the rule that 
those who are the least able to take care of themselves should be 



The Beginning of Public Life. 55 

most regarded by others. Particularly is it a duty to endeavor, 
by every means, that labor may receive adequate remuneration; 
which, unhappily among several classes of our fellow-country- 
men, is not now the case. Whatever measures — therefore, wheth- 
er by correction of the poor laws, allotment of cottage grounds, 
or otherwise — tend to promote tbis object, I deem entitled to ihz 
warmest support; with all such as are calculated to secui^ 
sound moral conduct in any class of society. 

" I proceed to the momentous question of slavery, which I have 
found entertained among you, in that candid and temperate spirit 
which alone befits its nature, or promises to remove its difficul- 
ties. If I have not recognized the right of an irresponsible so- 
ciety to interpose between me and the electors, it has not been 
from any disrespect to its members, nor from any unwillingness 
to answer their or any other questions on which the electors 
may desire to know my views. To the esteemed secretary of the 
society I submitted my reasons for silence; and I made a point 
of stating those reasons to him, in his character of a voter. 

"As regards the abstract lawfulness of slavery, I acknowledge 
it simply as importing the right of one man to the labor of an- 
other, and I rest it upon the fact that Scripture, the paramount 
authority upon such a point, gives directions to persons standing 
in the relation of master to slave, for their conduct in that rela- 
tion ; whereas, were the matter absolutely and necessarily sinful, 
it would not regulate the manner. Assuming sin as the cause of 
degradation, it strives, and strives most effectually, to cure the 
latter by extirpating the former. We are agreed that both the 
physical and the moral bondage of the slave are to be abolished. 
The question is as to the order, and the order only; now Scrip- 
ture attacks the moral evil before the temporal one, andthetem- 
poral through the moral one, and I am content with the order 
which Scripture has established. 

" To this end, I desire to see immediately set on foot, by impar- 
tial and sovereign authority, a universal and efficient system of 
Christian instruction, not intended to resist designs of individ- 
ual piety and wisdom for the religious improvement of the ne- 
groes, but to do thoroughly what they can only do partially. 

" As regards immediate emancipation, with or without compen- 
sation, there are several minor reasons against it ; but that which 
weighs with me is, that it would, I much fear, change the evils 
now affecting the negro for others which are weightier; for a re- 



56 The Beginning of Public Life. 

lapse into deeper debasement, if not for bloodshed and internal 
war. Let fitness be made a condition for emancipation j and let 
us strive to bring him to that fitness by the shortest possible 
course. Let him enjoy the means of earning his freedom through 
honest and industrious habits ; thus the same instruments which 
attain his liberty shall render him competent to use it ; and thus, 
I earnestly trust, without risk of blood, without violation of prop- 
erty, with unimpaired benefit to the negro, and with the utmost 
speed which prudence will admit, we shall arrive at that exceed- 
ingly desirable consummation, the utter extinction of slavery. 

"And now, gentlemen, as regards the enthusiasm with which 
you have rallied round your ancient flag, and welcomed the 
humble representative of those principles whose emblem it is, I 
trust that neither the lapse of time nor the seductions of pros- 
perity can ever efface it from my memory. To my opponents, 
my acknowlegments are due for the good humor and kindness 
with which they have received me; and while I would thank my 
friends for their zealous and unwearied exertions in my favor, I 
briefly but emphatically assure them, that if promises be an ad- 
quate foundation of confidence, or experience a reasonable 
ground of calculation, our victory is sure. 

" I have the honor to be, Gentlemen, 

Your obliged and obedient Servant, 

"W. E. Gladstone.'' 

This address suggests that Gladstone's opinions on the subject 
of slavery had been called in question by a society having for its 
object the suppression of slavery in the British dominions. Such 
was indeed the case j and the young candidate had good reasons 
for not desiring to state his opinions "publicly. A considerable 
portion of his father's wealth was drawn from the "West Indies, 
where he had large estates, worked wholly by slave labor. 
He was somewhat in the position of a scion of a Southern 
family, in American ante-bellum days, when called upon to de- 
fend the "peculiar institution" against the accusations of North- 
ern friends. More positive condemnation of the slave question 
we could not expect; and we must admire the dexterity with 
which he has avoided committing himself. 

The opponents of Mr. Gladstone were not to be despised. Mr. 
Handley appears to have been of much less note than Sergeant 
Wilde, who had much personal popularity in Newark, and was a 



The Beginning of Public Life. 57 

veteran platform orator. This gentleman, says a paper of the 
time, which bitterly opposed the Tories, was, on his entrance in- 
to town, met by almost the whole population j he had unsuccess- 
fully contested the borough in the elections of 1829 and 1830 ; in 
1831 he had been more successful, and had formed one of the 
majority for the Reform Bill. But the very measure which 
his Liberal supporters had hoped would secure his re-election, 
was to be here condemned by the election of a Tory candidate. 

The election did not take place until December. In the mean 
time, it may be believed that the various candidates and their 
friends were not idle. Mr. Gladstone, though a stranger to the 
town, and hence under some disadvantage as compared with the 
well-known and popular Mr. Wilde, had made many friends among 
the electors; and had won the highest praises from the members 
of the Red Club, an influential Tory organization. This number- 
ed some six hundred and fifty or more voters, and these were all 
pledged to the support of the duke's candidate. Others there 
were, who were positively promised ; and the election was well- 
nigh assured. 

It was not to be won without the usual disagreeable concomit- 
ants, however. "Who is Mr. Gladstone?" was the question some- 
what contemptuously asked by the adherents of the late mem- 
ber for the borough. The question was of course answered in 
two ways; said the Tory organ, Old England: 

" He is the son of the friend of Mr. Canning, the great Liv- 
erpool merchant. He is, we understand, not more than four 
or five and twenty, but he has won golden opinions from all 
sorts of people, and promises to be an ornament to the House 
of Commons." On the other hand, the Regulator, the Whig 
organ, answered the same query in this way : "Mr. Gladstone 
is the son of Gladstone of Liverpool, a person who (we are 
now speaking of the father) has amassed a large fortune by 
West India dealings. In other words, a great part of his gold has 
sprung from the blood of black slaves. Eespecting the youth him- 
self, a person fresh from college, and whose mind is as much like 
a sheet of foolscap paper as possible, he was utterly unknown. 
He came recommended by no claim in the world except the will 
of the duke." All of which was perfectly true, though stated with 
rather too much contempt for what we think of the long famous 
Liberal. 

The campaign was a hot one, and not unmarked by those at- 



58 The Beginning of Public Life. 

tempts at wit which are frequently no more than so many in- 
sults to the person against whom they are leveled. Among these 
jokes, of the more innocent and allowable kind was a procession 
which passed through the streets, bearing a coffin inscribed 
"Young Gladstone's Ambition." The Whigs, however, were 
false prophets; for the event showed that the coffin held a very 
lively corpse. 

There was considerable enthusiasm for him, even among those 
who had formerly supported Sergeant "Wilde; for his straight- 
forward manner and speeches made friends among all. Newark 
was not altogether a pocket borough, in the sense that some 
others were at that date; for the electors numbered about fifteen 
hundred and many of them had minds of their own, very differ- 
ent in bent from that of the duke. His influence was consider- 
able; but so strong was Sergeant Wilde in the hearts of the 
Reform Whigs, newly encouraged by the passage of the great 
measure, that it was said that if the duke had brought forward 
his own son, Lord Lincoln, as a candidate, he would have been 
defeated. 

Tho nomination was held Dec. 11th, the election being fixed for 
the 12th and 13th. Mr. Gladstone was the third of the candi- 
dates in the nomination. His experience upon the hustings can 
not have been a very pleasant one, as he was assailed by ques- 
tions from his opponent's supporters. One of these hostile elec- 
tors demanded if he were not the Duke of Newcastle's nominee. 
Now, in point of fact, he was the Duke of Newcastle's nominee, 
and everybody there present was perfectly aware of the fact ; but 
the question was asked, that an argument might be based upon 
the answer ; for the fact was not to be denied. Mr. Gladstone's 
enemies aver that he is skilled in the art of talking withoutsay- 
ing anything ; of satisfying his listeners without making any as- 
sertions to commit himself. If this is so, he began at an early 
age ; for he certainly evaded this embarrassing question in quite 
a neat manner. He informed the gentleman that he would like 
to know what he meant by the expression used ; if the elector 
would tell him what was implied by the term "the Duke of 
Newcastle's nominee," he (Mr. Gladstone) would tell him wheth- 
er the term applied to him or not. The Newarker, who thought 
that he had his enemy in a tight place, fell into the trap at once. 

The duke's nominee, he explained, was a person sent to be 
pushed down the throats of the electors, whether they liked him 



The Beginning of Public Life. 5£ 

Or not. Whereupon Mr. Gladstone suavely answered that, accord- 
ing to that definition, he was not the duke's nominee; he had 
come to Newark upon the invitation of the Bed Club, the re- 
spectability and intelligence of which no one could impugn. This 
invitation, he said, had doubtless been extended to him in con- 
sequence of his friendship with the Earl of Lincoln, as the club 
had applied to the duke to know if he could recommend a suit- 
able candidate to them; and his Grace had replied by suggest- 
ing himself (Mr. Gladstone). It is to be hoped that the elector 
was satisfied with the answer; at any rate, he seems to have had 
no more to say. 

Another question remained to be met — it was that which he 
had evaded so skillfully in his address. His answer upon the 
hustings seems to have been simply an enlargement of that 
which had been given in print, bat so stated that it was less 
equivocal in its condemnation of the slave traffic and more cer- 
tainly in favor of emancipation. 

The candidates being called upon to address the meeting, Ser- 
geant Wilde chose the slavery question as the chief subject of his 
speech, which lasted for more than three hours. He was follow- 
ed by Mr. Handley, who also spoke a long time, and mainly on 
the same topic, to show that his humanity was at least equal to 
that of the first speaker. Mr. Gladstone was thus at a consider- 
erable disadvantage ; not only did he have to reply to these 
speeches on a subject which he could hardly discuss freely, but 
he must speak to men worn out by listening to two long speech- 
es, following the lively dialogues, some small portion of which 
we have described. He had hardly begun to speak when his 
voice was drowned by the hooting and hissing which showed 
their disinclination to listen to him, and he soon found it would 
be impossible to proceed. A show of hands was demanded. 
There were few or none for Mr. Gladstone, beyond his support- 
ters on the hustings; and a poll was demanded. From the first, 
this told a very different tale; for he took the lead from the 
start, and was never overtaken by his rivals. When the voting 
was over, the result stood: Gladstone, 882; Handley, 793; 
Wilde, 719. 

A few days after this election, Mr. Gladstone addressed a 
meeting of the Constitutional Club at Nottingham. Commenting 
upon his address, a journal of the day observed : " He is a gen- 
tleman of amiable manners and the most extraordinary talent; 



60 The Beginning of Public liif^ 

and we venture to predict, without the slightest exaggeration, 
that he will one day be classed amongst the most able statesmen 
in the British Senate." Without exaggeration, he has been class- 
ed amongst the most able statesmen in the British Senate. 

The first Reform Parliament met Jan. 29, 1833. Its composition 
was not what had been expected j for now that the great measure 
had been carried, many of the Liberal -Conservatives had return- 
ed to the allegiance from which the popular commotion had fright- 
ened them j the Whig majority was not nearly so large as the 
Whigs themselves had hoped, or the Tories had feared. But there 
was still a sufficient majority to make the party of Reform a 
formidable enemy. 

There remained at least one great question to be settled, which 
had been agitated for a number of years. Before the American 
Revolution began, William Wilberforce, then a boy at school, 
had begun his long crusade against slavery by a letter written 
to a York newspaper. Ot efforts in that direction he never 
wearied, until the hand of death itself was upon him. The slave- 
trade was abolished in England and her colonies in 1806, two* 
years before the time when, by the Constitution framed in 1787, 
it was abolished in this country. But slavery still existed, and 
the friends of freedom, cheered by this partial success, brought 
new energy to the completion of their task. At the time of 
which we write, Wilberforce was more than seventy years old, 
and the ill health from which he had suffered for a number of 
years had long kept him from active exertions. Compelled in 1825 
to retire from Parliament, where for thirty-six years he had nev- 
er ceased to press the great question, his mantle fell upon Sir 
Thomas Powell Buxton, then plain Mr. Buxton, who had long 
been a Parliamentary advocate of every measure which could 
improve the condition of the helpless and oppressed. He was no 
unworthy successor of the great apostle of the abolition of slav- 
ery, and it was by his efforts that the bill to do away with slav- 
ery in the British colonies was introduced in this session of Par- 
liament. 

Nor was the slave without other and powerful advocates. The 
brilliant eloquence of Macaulay, the son of that Zachary Macau- 
lay who had done as much as any one for the abolition of slav- 
ery, was enlisted in its behalf; and Brougham had thrilled the 
House with his appalling stories of the abuse of despotic power 
in the colonies. 




MR. GLADSTONE CUTTING TREES AT HAWARDEN 



The Beginning of Public Life. 



61 



Much to the disappointment of those so much interested in this 
question, the royal speech did not make any mention of it. The 
abolitionists at once demanded to know if the Government meant 
to take any action in this connection. The Ministry asked for time 
to consider, which was granted. The matter was submitted to Lord 
Stanley, afterward Earl of Derby. He was the very man to whom 
it should have been intrusted, for when his feelings were aroused, 
ho rose to the height of a genuine eloquence, and the rarity of 
such occasions made them doubly influential upon his listeners. 
His sympathies were excited on behalf of the slaves, and aided by 
the steady forethought which was one of his marked qualities, 
he was able to devise a 
plan which, with a few 
modifications, proved to 
be acceptable to the two 
parties. All children 
born after the passage of 
the act, or less than six 
years old at the time of 
its passage, were declared 
free, though subject to 
such restrictions as might 
be necessary for their sup- 
port and maintenance; all 
persons over that age, 
registered as slaves, were 
to be apprenticed to their 
masters for a stated length 
of time, to be fixed by 
Parliament; the Government was to remunerate the slave-owners 
for the loss thus occasioned, and the sum of £20,000,000 was set 
aside for that purpose. This was the Act of Emancipation as it 
passed the House; it differed but slightly from the bill proposed 
by the Colonial Secretary. 

The debate was a bitter one, and sometimes assumed a person- 
al form, or as nearly that as the rules of the House of Commons 
will allow. It was the business of those whc had profited by it to 
defend the iniquitous system of traffic in human beings and the 
evils resulting from it. There was at least one such in the House. 
" There is not a stone in the walls of Liverpool but is cemented 
by the blood of Africans/' the people of that city had once been 




William Wilberforce. 



62 The Beginning of Public Life. 

told, and truly. Much of the wealth which had enabled Mr. 
Gladstone the elder to take such a high position among his fel- 
low-merchants had been, like theirs, drawn from "West Indian es- 
tates, where the labor was done altogether by slaves. These es- 
tates were so large, and Mr. Gladstone's name so well known 
(Sir Eobert Peel had in 1819 quoted the opinion of "Mr. Glad- 
stone, the great Liverpool merchant," as high authority upon 
some question of expedience), that they formed a convenient ex- 
ample. During the course of the debate, Lord Howick referred 
to the decrease in the number of slaves on an estate in Dem- 
erara, owned by Mr. Gladstone, and which he claimed was pro- 
duced by the inhuman manner in which the slaves were worked. 
The elder Gladstone was without a seat in the House of Com- 
mons at this time, and hence he was referred to by name; and 
his son found himself obliged to answer the accusations thus 
brought against the name. His maiden speech in the House was 
delivered May 17, 1833. He did not defend slavery in general, 
but contented himself with asserting the groundlessness of some 
of the statements which Lord Howick had made; and showed 
that the decrease had been caused by the transfer of some of the 
slaves to other estates. He admitted that the cultivation of sugar 
was more detrimental to those engaged in it than some other 
crops, but instanced trades in England itself, such as painting, 
and working in lead mines, which were similarly injurious to 
those engaged in them. The speech does not seem to have been 
regarded as of any importance to the subject in general ; it was 
rather a defense of his father personally, and a proof of the 
well-known kindness of the overseer employed by him. 

His second speech followed this after but a short interval, and 
was of the same general character. But in this he took a some- 
what broader view of the matter, and defined his own opinions 
regarding the subject with more precision. Beginning with the 
charges which Lord Howick had made, he showed yet more 
plainly that these especial wrongs of the slave were without ac- 
tual existence. Proceeding to the discussion of the general prin- 
ciples involved, he confessed with shame and pain that many 
cases of wanton cruelty had occurred in the colonies, both 
in branding the slaves, and whipping them beyond the limits of 
human endurance; he added that these cruelties would always 
be practised, under any system of slavery, in some instances at 
least; and while the West Indies represented these as rare and 



The Beginning of Public Life. 



63 



isolated case*, and maintained that the ordinary relation of 
master and slave was a friendly one, he admitted that a system 
which permitted these things is necessarily repugnant to the 
principles of civilization and Christianity by which the British 




Gladstone's First Speech in the House of Commons. 

empire is ruled. He demanded that the planters should be re- 
compensed for the loss which would be entailed upon them by 
emancipation (the original proposition was that the Government 
should loan £15,000,000 to enable the planters to carry on their 



64 Flie Beginning of Public Lift* 

plantations), and that a plan should be adopted by which the de- 
serving negroes might be freed before the idle and incompetent 
ones. 

When we consider the circumstances in which the young M. P. 
was placed, and the feelings with which he had been educated^ 
we can hardly expect any more generous speech than this utter- 
ance. Had he been brought up with such an abhorrence of slav- 
ery as had been inculcated in the minds of Wilberforce's child- 
ren, he would doubtless have spoken more strongly; but he was 
naturally one of the opponents of abolition, like the slave-own- 
ers of America. Had the American Abolitionists acted with as 
much consideration as Lord Stanle}^, the slave-owners would 
perhaps have responded in the same spirit; and Emancipation 
would have been a peaceful measure. 

The bill passed its second reading ten days before the death of 
Wilberforce; its success was assured by the majorities which 
had sanctioned it thus far, and the known attitude of many of the 
Lords ; thus the great, good ohi man had the satisfaction of 
knowing, in the hours of death, that his life had not been spent 
in vain ; that the impetus which he had given to this philanthro- 
pic effort had secured its ultimate success, and laid the founda- 
tion for the happiness of thousands of oppressed and benighted 
men. 

The question of the abolition of slavery having been settled,, 
there arose that ghost which continually haunts the halls of 
Parliament, and, like Banquo's, will not down. This was a form 
of the Irish question, at that particular time embodied in an ef- 
fort to settle the difficulties arising from the difference between 
the Established Church of Ireland and that of the people. The 
act of Union had provided that the Episcopal Church, as wo know 
it, should be the Church of Ireland as it was the Church of Eng- 
land ; and in every parish there was a duly presented incum- 
bent. Sometimes the whole representation of the Established 
Church in a parish would bo the incumbent and his clerk. Un- ) 
der such circumstances, the collection of tithes, from people who 
supported another church, was not only a great hardship, but 
well-nigh impossible. The Government persisted in supporting 
churches and the clergy, whether there were any communicants 
or not. The priests had been tacitly exempted from the pay- 
ment of tithes until about 1830, when some over-zealous tithe- 
proctor seized a priest's horse in default of payment. The peo» 



The Beginning of Public Life. 65 

pie in general had long been accustomed to allow their property 
to be seized in this way, as they would not pay voluntarily for 
the maintenance of the Establishment, and the Government in- 
sisted upon making collections. But to have the priest himself 
thus taxed for the support of the alien religion, was too much 
for their patience. There had been riots before this time, when 
the police had fired among the crowd with deadly effect; riots 
described with such pathos by the great Irish orator, O'Con- 
nell, that young Charles Dickens, a reporter in the House 
of Commons, and the most skillful that ever did that work, laid 
down his pencil and declared that he could not go on; that 
speaker's subject and manner had too powerfully affected him. 
The priests now denounced the payment of tithes from the pul- 
pit; it was the one thing which had been wanting; and the dex- 
terity and perseverance which the people exercised in avoiding 
the paj^ment of the hated tax would, if applied to their daily 
work, have enabled them to pay it ten times over. But as in the 
case of a celebrated small tax upon tea, which the British Gov- 
ernment once imposed, it was the principle which was at stake. 
The authorities tried every plan to collect the tithes, but it was 
of no avail. Finally, in this session of Parliament, a plan was 
proposed, which would enable the incumbents to hold their own, 
for a while at least. The Government was not without feeling 
for the clergy, whose lot was not a very enviable one ; this same 
tax, which there was such an ado about collecting, was their 
means of subsistence; whatever were the merits of the case, they 
were not to blame for the fact that the Church of the State and 
the Church of the people were not the same ; and the Govern- 
ment which had placed them in their present position could not, 
with common decency, leave them to starve. The arrears of the 
tithes amounted, in 1833, to more than a million and a quarter 
sterling; an arrearage which was distributed amongan immense 
number of men whoso sole means of living it was. Lord Althorp 
brought forward a bill which provided for the Government as- 
suming this debt, and looking to its own collectors for repay- 
ment. Mr. Gladstone spoke against this bill, which, he said, he 
feared would place the Irish Church on an untenable foundation. 
Admitting the principle that the State ought to maintain the Es- 
tablished Church, he denied that the means provided in this plan 
were adapted to secure the ends wished. Mr. Gladstone seems 
to have been extremely unfortunate in his choice of subjects oo 

5 



QQ 'The Beginning of Public Life. 

which to speak, for in this ease, as in the first, he was left wO- 
fully in the minority when it came to a division. 

Nor did any better effects result from his speech on the sub- 
ject of admission to the universities, upon which Parliament 
found it necessary to legislate. It was proposed to remove the 
necessity of subscription to the Thirty-nine Articles; and the 
bill passed by a majority of 89. We find no further evidence of 
the activity of this young member of the opposition during the 
remainder of this year. The topics of importance had all been 
discussed and settled, for the time at least. Slavery was abol- 
ished, though it would not actually cease for several years to 
come; and the affair had been managed in such a way that the 
fears of the planters had been allayed, and the numerous predic- 
tions of ungovernable tumults and murderous riots by the ne- 
groes as the result of their emancipation had been completely 
falsified by the event. The troubles of the Irish Church had been 
settled for as long a time as the amount of money appropriated 
would pay the tithes; though the Irish people were still to be 
oppressed, to repay the Government for this outlay. The re- 
quirements of admission to the University of Oxford had been 
so far changed that others than members of the Established 
Church might now enter that institution of learning, which had 
never swayed from strict orthodoxy since its early lapse in de- 
fending Wiclif. Such were three of the great measures of the 
Parliament which met immediately after the passage of the first 
Reform Bill. 

But the Government which had passed these measures was 
materially weakened by the loss of one of its members. Lord Al- 
thorp, who had held the post of Chancellor of the Exchequer, 
had, by the death of his father, become Lord Spencer and a 
member of the House of Lords. This made it necessary for a 
new Chancellor to be appointed, and raised further difficulties 
peculiar to the situation. Lord Althorp's influence had been suf- 
ficient to keep the party of the Government tolerably united; 
the Prime Minister, Earl Grey, and his successor, Viscount Mel- 
bourne, being of course removed from any direct influence over 
the members of the lower house; but now there was no one who 
could prevent fatal divisions among the Whigs of the Commons. 

The king saw the difficulties which had arisen, and was be- 
sides of the opinion that the days of this party were numbered, so 
far as their present tenure of office was concerned. He refused, 




The Duke of Wellington. 



68 The Beginning of Public Life. 

then, to allow the appointment of Lord Althorp's successor; Lord 
Melbourne and his colleagues were dismissed, and the Duke of 
Wellington was summoned. He advised that Sir Robert Peel 
should be sent for, as he felt unequal or unwilling himself to un- 
dertake the work of forming a cabinet; the old soldier had not 
quite forgiven the people of England for passing the Reform 
Bill, and could not stoop to take office under a Reformed Govern- 
ment. His counsel was accepted, and Sir Robert, who was trav- 
eling in Italy, hastened home. 

This was in December, 1834. The new Premier had watched, 
as all men of ability in similar positions must, the rise of the 
younger members of Parliament, who were destined to carry on 
the work of ruling the country when he and his generation 
should have passed away. Among such the young member for 
Newark had not been unnoted. The skill and ability with which 
he had spoken against the measures of the Government had not 
escaped the watchful eyes of the elder man; and when the new 
cabinet was formed, though there was no room in it for a man of 
barely twenty-five, the subordinate post of Junior Lord of 
the Treasury was offered him, and, as may easily be guessed, not 
declined. 

In this connection, we note that though the action of William 
IV. in dismissing a Ministry which had as yet sustained no nota- 
ble defeat in the House of Commons appears arbitrary and op- 
posed to the principles of Constitutional Government, it was in 
strict accordance with the practice of his father, his brother, and 
himself at other times. Queen Victoria is the first English sov- 
ereign whose ministers have invariably been chosen with refer- 
ence to the demands of the Commons, and retained in office un- 
til the Commons have demanded a change. 




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CHAPTER III. 

EARLY OFFICIAL LIFE. 

Whigs Versus Tories - Trained in Early Life to Speak in Public— Account of 
Sir Kobert Peel— Events Following the Passage of the Reform Act — Mr. 
Gladstone as Junior Lord of the Treasury — Canadian Troubles of 1837— 
Death of King William IV. — Address to His Constituents — Accession of 
Victoria to the Throne — More Agitation of the Slavery Question — Debate 
on the War with China— Queen Victoria's Marriage— Popularity of the 
Prince Consort. 

IE EOBEET PEEL was the eldest son of a baronet of the 
same name, whose wealth and prominence as a manufactur- 
er had secured the elevation to a baronetage from Mr. Pitt. 
His Toryism was well defined and uncompromising; so 
that when, on the birth of his son, he vowed he would give him 
to his country, it was understood by all hearers that the boy was 
to be devoted to the Tory party. But in the days which the young- 
er Peel was to see, the old-time distinctions of Tory and Whig 
were to go out of fashion ; and in their place were to come 
Conservatives and Liberals. There had indeed been use for 
these two latter names before, but only as minor branches of the 
two parties; after the passage of the Eeform Bill, it seems that 
the broadly marked distinctions were permitted to fade out; and 
the more moderate parties obtained the ascendency. There are 
still "Whigs and Tories, it is true, but they are looked upon as 
followers of a fashion which has long ago passed away. It is our 
pride that we lean toward our opponents' party so far that we 
can see the reasons which influence their actions. 

The education of the boy thus devoted to his party was con- 
ducted by the father with the most jealous care that it should be 
such as would fit him to take part in parliamentary proceedings to 
the best possible advantage. From childhood he was trained to 
speak in public, by being placed upon a table each Sunday, when 
the family returned from church, and bidden to repeat as much of 
the sermon as he could recall. At Harrow, where he was the 

69 



70 Marly Official life. 

form-fellow of Lord Byron, he won golden opinions by his dili- 
gence and ability. At Oxford, where he was entered at Christ 
Church, he was the first to win a double-first class under the new 
and more stringent examination. Hampden and Whateley were 
among the competitors whom he distanced. He entered the 
House of Commons for the first time as the member for a bor- 
ough which was regularly sold to the highest bidder, and his first 
speech showed that the Tory Government had gained a valuable 
supporter. He had won his reputation as a speaker by an elo- 
quent eulogy upon the Duke of Wellington, which he found oc- 
casion to deliver in 1811, on the occasion of the British Govern- 
ment subsidizing some Portuguese troops. How far this influ- 
enced the Duke in his after treatment of Mr. Peel, it is impossi- 
ble to say; the man of the strictest justice is often unconscious- 
ly swayed by some such action of those with whom he has to 
deal. He was barely trrenty-four when he was made Chief Sec- 
retary for Ireland ; a post which then, as now, was not without 
its difficulties. It is hard to say whether it is a matter of greater 
difficulty to deal with an opponent like O'Connell, or one like Par- 
ncllj the scathing satire and coarse rough humor were quite 
enough to keep the young minister busy, without imagining the 
difficulties which might beset some successor from quite a differ- 
ent kind of man. 

As a matter of course, he was opposed to the claims of the 
Catholics being granted ; there were but few of the Tories who 
were not ; and this led to the conferring of a nickname upon him 
which is remembered now as one of the happiest puns ever per- 
petrated in politics: the opponent of the Irish Catholics was 
dubbed "Orange Peel." But he was not wholly acceptable to the 
party for whom he was thus named. His moderation in some 
respects offended them ; but he held the office for a long time. 

His duel with O'Connell was long made the means of casting 
a good deal of ridicule upon him. O'Connell had taunted Peel 
with being afraid to use certain expressions in any place where 
he could be called to account for them. Peel resented this at 
once, and authorized a friend to act as his second. O'Connell 
promptly named one of his friends for the same duty. The two 
seconds met, but were unable to agree from which party the 
challenge was due. To settle this question, they eventually 
challenged one another. O'Connell claimed that Peel was trying 
by this means to get out of it; Peel found another second, less 



Early Official Life. 71 

quarrelsome than the first, and challenged O'Connell. The latter 
was arrested, and bound over to keep the peace j they agreed to 
go abroad j but O'Connell was again arrested, and not released 
until he had given bonds not to quit the country. Such was the 
end of the famous duel between O'Connell and Peel, if it is not 
too great a bull to speak of the end of an affair which never took 
place. 

To go back to the graver events of Peel's life. There is one 
thing which was done in connection with his Irish Secretaryship 
which was a real and much-needed reform : the military ceased 
to be employed in the repression of popular outbreaks, and a 
civil force of police was substituted. It seems to make but little 
difference by what agency oppression is carried on j but a little 
reflection will make it plain that a police force, responsible to 
the civil authorities, is vastly preferable to soldiery, command- 
ed by their own officers, even though the latter are nominally 
under the direction of the magistrates. 

Resigning the Irish Secretaryship in 1817, he was out of office 
for three years. In 1819 he showed remarkable financial ability iv 
connection with the action which was taken on the redemption 
of Bank of England notes in gold. The Bank Act, which he was 
mainly instrumental in framing, is still the law which governs 
the monetary system of the country. 

Like his great rival, Canning, Peel defended the course of the 
Government in those oppressions which culminated in the Peter- 
loo Massacre ; and, like Canning, he would have nothing to do 
with the action of the king against his queen, when Caroline of 
Brunswick claimed the title of Queen Consort. Made Home 
Secretary in 1821, he was subordinate, in a measure, to Mr. Can- 
ning, whose brilliant talents overshadowed all of his colleagues, 
though he was not the nominal head of the Government. Here 
again he introduced reforms, simplifying and humanizing the 
laws in regard to crime. Up to 1810, there were no fewer than 
two hundred and eighty-three laws upon, the statute book relat- 
ing to offences for which death was the penalty. Peel's was 
the first hand that dealt a blow at this cruel and ineffective leg- 
islation ; and although the reform which he instituted was not a 
complete one, it must be remembered that there are limits to the 
possibilities of changing existing laws, which do not all arise 
from the unwillingness of the statesman. 

"We have already noted the contest which ensued when Lord 



72 



Early Official Life. 



Liverpool died. After the death of Canning, Peel found that it was 
impossible to resist the claims of the Catholics any longer. It 
had been predicted by a close observer, who watched the course 
of affairs from a place of privilege, that "the march of time 
and the state of Ireland will effect it in spite of everything," and 
Catholic Emancipation became an accomplished fact. 

With his party, Peel had been in the minority during the Parlia- 
ment elected after the passage of the Reform Act ; but this mi- 
nority diminished daily. It was at this time that Sir Robert, 




Sir Robert Peel. 

the leader of his party, had the good sense to adopt the newer 
name by which it has been known since his time; and men who 
had been bitterly opposed to Tories found themselves not unwil- 
ling to give support to Conservative measures. At the same time, 
the services which he had himself rendered to the old Tory par- 
ty made the continuance of its supporters' allegiance sure. 

The Whigs were suffering from the consequences of victory, 
and it had become impossible for the leaders of the party to 



Early Official Life. 73 

please the less progressive adherents and the new Whigs, or Lib- 
erals, as they had begun to call themselves, at the same time. 
Although there had been no direct rebuke of the Whig policy in 
the House of Commons, the king was not far out of the way in 
dismissing his ministers, and forming a Conservative cabinet. 

Mr. Gladstone's acceptance of the office of Junior Lord of the 
Treasury was dated Dec. 24, 1834. According to English law and 
precedent, by accepting an office of profit under the Crown, he 
vacated his seat and the Speaker issued his writ for a new elec- 
tion at Newark. In his address to the electors, G-ladstone re- 
viewed the history of the session, showing how the relative po- 
sitions of the two parties had essentially changed since the mem- 
bers had subscribed the roll. He seems to have thought that 
with the Whig Ministry Reform had run mad, and deprecatesthe 
fact that there were even "those among the servants of the king 
who did not scruple to solicit the suffrages of their constituents 
with promises to act on the principles of Radicalism." An in- 
telligent man could not deny the necessity for many reforms j 
nor did the young candidate attempt such a hopeless and useless 
task. "The question has then," he went on to say, "as it appears 
to me, become, whether we are to hurry onward at intervals, but 
not long ones, through the medium of the ballot, short parlia- 
ments, and other measures called popular, into republicanism or 
anarchy; or whether, independently of all party considerations, 
the people will support the Crown, in the discharge of its duty 
to maintain in efficiency and transmit in safety those old and 
valuable institutions under which our country has greatly flour- 
ished." In regard to Church matters, however, he saw that 
there was real need of reform. "Let me add, shortly but em- 
phatically, concerning the reform of actual abuses, whether in 
Church or Slate, that I regard it as a sacred duty— a duty at all 
times, and certainly not least at a period like this, when the dan- 
ger of neglecting it is most clear and imminent — a duty not inim- 
ical to true and determined Conservative principle, nor a curtail- 
ment and modification of such principle, but its legitimate con- 
sequence, or rather an actual element of its composition." 

He was confronted at first by the same opponents who had 
contested the former election; but Mr. Handley having with- 
drawn, Mr. Gladstone and the Liberal candidate, Sergeant Wilde, 
were returned without opposition. The people of Newark felt 
that they had reason to be proud of their representative ; his 



74 Marly Official Life. 

had been a brilliant record, for a young man who had but recent- 
ly entered upon the arena of political life. According to the 
time-honored custom, he was chaired, and as the procession 
wended its way through the streets, he was received by all parties 
with the most flattering enthusiasm. At the rooms of his Com- 
mittee, Mr. Gladstone addressed the electors to the number of 
six thousand, and was greeted with deafening cheers. 

Mr. Gladstone did not long hold the office to which he had 
been appointed so shortly after his chief's accession to power ; 
but he left it to accept one which was more desirable — that of 
Under-Secretary for the Colonies. This change took place 
shortly after Parliament assembled, in February, 1835. Act- 
ing in this capacity, he brought in his first bill in March of that 
year. Intended for the better regulation of the carriage of pas- 
sengers in merchant vessels to North America, it contained 
many humane provisions, and was most favorably received. 

But the Peel Ministry was a short-lived one. It came to grief 
upon the question of the Irish Church, and the ministers were 
again defeated on the question of appropriating the surplus 
funds of the Church to the general education of all classes of 
Christians. In the bitter and acrimonious debates which attend- 
ed these two defeats, Mr. Gladstone was noticeable by the cour- 
teous bearing which has always distinguished him, and the gen- 
eral urbanity of his manners. 

Having thus lost the support of the House, the Peel Ministry of 
course resigned, including the officers who were without seats in 
the cabinet. Mr. Gladstone was again in opposition, and remain- 
ed there for some time. 

Shortly after this, we find him again defending the West In- 
dian planters from the accusations which were brought against 
them as a class, but based upon the cruelties practiced by a few ; 
for the apprenticeship system gave the masters almost as much 
power, while it lasted, as the old sj'stem of slavery. 

After a speech supporting the Government against the House 
of Assembly of Canada, when the Canadian troubles of 1837 
came before Parliament, Mr. Gladstone again spoke in opposi- 
tion on the question of Church Rates; and it is said by a compe- 
tent authority that this was the best and most impassioned 
speech which he had yet made. His opposition, however, did 
not produce any appreciable effect, as the Government carried 
\he measure which had been proposed. 



Marly Official Life. 



75 



The death of King William IV., which occurred June 20th, 1837, 
made another general election necessary; and Mr. Gladstone 
turned again to his faithful constituency of Newark. But his 
fame had spread. During the four years that he had now been 
in Parliament, he had most completely demonstrated his ability 




Princess Victoria in Girlhood. 



and the Tories of Manchester desired to show their appreciation 
of it. A deputation of three gentlemen waited upon Mr. Glad- 
stone, and invited him to stand for Manchester. The invitation 
was perhaps as great a compliment as they could pay him, but 
unfortunately, in the great mann^ -'-"~ing center, the defeat of 



76 Early Official Life. 

the Tory candidates was almost a certainty. To use the express 
ive language of a newspaper of the day, "he did not allow them 
to make a fool of him, and declined the invitation." Of course 
the mere question of victory or defeat was not the reason on 
which the declination was based ■ Newark was the first borough 
for which he had stood ; it had shown its appreciation of him at 
the second election at which he had been a candidate ; and to de- 
sert them now, after again presenting himself to them, and issu- 
ing an address, would have been wholly unjustifiable^ 

But the Manchester people would not take no for an answer 3 
and although Mr. Gladstone had flatly refused to stand, they 
placed his name before the electors. This was calculated to make 
trouble at Newark, and the much sought member issued an ad- 
dress to his constituents, dated July 22d, 1837. In this address 
he said : 

" My attention has just been called to a paragraph in the Not- 
tingham and Newark Mercury of this morning, which announ- 
ces, on the authority of some person unknown, that I have con- 
sented to be put in nomination for Manchester, and have prom- 
ised, if elected, to sit in Parliament as its representative. I have 
to inform you that these reports are wholly without foundation. 
I was honored on Wednesday with a deputation from Manchester, 
empowered to request that I would become a candidate for the 
borough. I felt the honor, but I answered unequivocally, and 
at once, that I must absolutely decline the invitation ; and I am 
much at a loss to conceive how ' a most respectable correspond- 
ent' could have cited language which I never used, from a letter 
which I never wrote. Lastty, I beg to state in terms as explicit 
as I can command, that I hold myself bound in honor to the 
electors of Newark, that I adhere in every particular to the ten- 
or of my late address, and that I place my humble services dur- 
ing the ensuing Parliament entirely and unconditionally attheir 
disposal." 

But in spite of this explicit and emphatic denial that he had 
accepted the invitation, his name was still used at Manchester. 
It was reported that he had promised £500 toward the expenses 
of the election, if he were returned ; and his name was actually 
presented at the polls. Although the candidate himself had thus 
discountenanced the whole affair, the Liberals were rather taken 
aback at the strength of the Tory vote. The Conservatives, after 
the election was over, gave a dinner to their unwilling candidate, 



Early Official Life. 



77 



at which he congratulated them on the energy which they had 
shown, and predicted that their strength would be the nucleus 
of future success. 

The accession of the young Princess Yictoria to the throne of 
Great Britain, upon the death of William IY., was an event of 
profound import to the whole English-speaking race and to hu- 
manity at large. George III. had left seven sons. Of these the eld- 




Dychess of Kent, Mother of Queen Victoria. 

est, who succeeded him as George IY., had but one child, the 
Princess Charlotte, who died in 1817. The second son died with- 
out heirs ; William IY. had no children. After the death of the 
Princess Charlotte, the fourth son, Edward, then a man well on 
toward middle age, had married the Dowager Princess of Lein- 
engea, whose brother had been the husband of the Princess 




78 



Marly Official Life. 70 

Charlotte, and thus looked forward to being consort of the 
Queen of England. There was but one child born of this mar- 
riage, a daughter, who was intended to be named for her uncle 
and grandfather, and for Alexander I. of Eussia. But the Czar 
insisted that Alexandrina must be the first name; whereupon^ 
the Prince Eegent declared that Greorgina should be second to (■ 
no other name in the list of those borne by an English princess. 
The baby was accordingly christened Alexandrina Victoria, the 
latter being her mother's name. 

The Princess Yictoria was born May 24th, 1818; and eight 
months later her father, the Duke of Kent, died. The widowed 
mother of the heiress presumptive to the throne had a difficult 
task to perform in the education of a daughter destined for such 
a lofty position ; but she received no help from her husband's 
family. She was decidedly unpopular with them and with the 
people generally ; and she did not make much effort to please 
the family into which she had married, having her own opinion 
of their morals. It is to her credit that she resolutely stifled 
all those natural longings for her native land and the society of 
her own relatives, and educated her daughter entirely in Eng- 
land, surrounded by English influences. 

The little princess grew up without any clear idea of her own 
importance, although, as Mrs. Oliphant says, in her Life of the 
Queen, "wherever the little maiden went, as was natural, she was 
the centre of attraction" to the people who realized her high 
destiny. She was twelve years old before she was allowed to 
learn that she was next in the line of succession. The import- 
ant communication was then made only in order that she might 
understand the reason for imposing more tasks upon her than 
were required of her cousins of less importance ; and the strict 
discipline which had always been used was in no way relaxed. 
As she grew older, there was much complaint from the King that 
the heir to the throne was not permitted to join in the festivities 
of the court; but the Duchess wisely judged that her young 
daughter was better away from such influences ; for it has been 
said that " scandals made the court of George IV. infamous, and 
that of William IV. ridiculous." 

The Princess Victoria was declared of age upon her eighteenth 
birthday, May 24th, 1837. When, a month later, her uncle died, 
she became Queen of England. His death took place at two 
o'clock in the morning, and at five the Archbishop of Canter- 



80 Early Official Life. 

bury and Lord Conyngham arrived at Kensington Palace, and de- 
manded to see the Princess Victoria. Her lady-in-waiting went 
to arouse her, but returned, saying that she was in suet a sweet 
sleep that she did not like to disturb her. 

" Madam," was the grave reply, "we are come upon business of 
State, and even the slumbers of THE QUEEN must give way 
to that." 

Thus rebuked, the startled attendant awakened sleeping and 
unconscious Majesty, and Victoria, clad only in a night-dress, 
with a dressing-gown hastily thrown over it, and with slip- 
pers on her bare feet, came down at once. 

"Your Majesty," began Lord Conyngham; but he was stopped 
by a simple gesture from the young girl, who held out her hand 
for him to kiss. He knelt and kissed it, and then told the news. 

At eleven o'clock that day the first Council of the new reign 
was held. The death of the King was officially announced, and 
the two archbishops, the two royal dukes, the Prime Minister, 
and the Lord Chancellor were sent to inform. the Queen. They 
returned to the council-room, the doors were flung open, and the 
new sovereign entered alone. Bowing to her assembled advis- 
ers, she took her seat, and read her speech clearly and audibly. 
The only sign of emotion she gave was when her two uncles did 
her homage, when she blushed deeply. Said the old Duke of 
Wellington, frankly : " If she had been my own daughter she 
could not have done better." 

We have turned a moment aside from the strict subject narra- 
tive of this volume to mention some interesting features of this 
epoch, because the ascending of the throne by Victoria was per- 
haps of more importance to the kingdom than any other similar 
change had ever been. The accession of this young girl seems 
to have made possible a progress toward liberty which could 
scarce]} 7- have been attained under the rule of a man ; but there 
is something higher than chivalry to be considered. Such re- 
forms as were made were bound to come at some time, and in 
some way;, efforts at change in the daj*s of the Stuarts had 
brought about a civil war, and resulted in the overthrow of the 
dynasty; efforts at change in the days of Victoria have ended 
in the triumphs of emancipation from the long rule hy mere 
right of birth. If a different sovereign had succeeded to the 
throne, would even a Gladstone have accomplished as much for 
the liberties of his fellow-countrymen ? 



Early Official Life. 81 

The Conservatives had not much hope of a change in the min- 
istry. Lord Melbourne was an adviser especially fitted to please 
a young queen, by the grace of his bearing and the suavity of 
his manners. Nor did the old Duke of Wellington credit the 
new sovereign with any better judgment in regard to men than 
was founded upon personal advantages. "The Tories will never 
have any chance with a young woman for a sovereign," he 
growled, "for I have no small talk, and Peel has no manners." 
Fortunately for the Conservatives, they were not obliged to wait 
until the Queen became old, or their leaders cultivated the miss- 
ing graces. For the present, indeed, she adopted something of 
Lord Melbourne's own policy ; when urged to undertake much 
needed reforms, the answer which this indolent and debonair 
statesman most frequently gave was : " Can't you let it alone ?" 
The young queen agreed to let him alone, for a while at least, in 
the office which he held; being so little skilled in state-craft that 
she did not know whether a change was needed or not. The 
counti-y approved of her action ; and the new Parliament was 
Liberal by a considerable majority. 

The most important question which the new Parliament had 
to consider was another phase of the Canadian trouble, or rath- 
er, the same disturbances increased. There had alwaj^s been 
bad feeling in Canada between the old French settlers and the 
English who had come after the victory of Wolfe; in addition 
to this, was the feeling that the Legislative Council, the mem- 
bers of which were nominated by the Crown, ought to be elect- 
ive, like the Representative Assembly. From these germs grew 
a rebellion, which required the presence of troops to subdue it. 
The Government proposed to suspend the constitution of both 
Upper and Lower Canada, which were then separate govern- 
ments, though both had been involved in the Rebellion; and to 
send out a Governor-General and High Commissioner, with pow- 
er to remodel the constitution of both provinces if they saw fit. 
Mr. Roebuck, who had been in Parliament from the time of the 
Reform Bill until this session, was the paid agent of the Cana- 
dian governments, and he demanded the right to plead their 
cause before the bar of both houses. Mr. Gladstone protested 
against this in the House of Commons, but without avail. The 
agent was heard as he demanded. Mr. Hume's motion for the re- 
jection of the Government bill was followed by a lively debate, 
in which the member for Newark took no small part. Reviewing 

6 



82 Marly Official Life. 

the entire series of events and the legislation and rulings which 
had led to the present complications, he pointed out the most 
glaring contradictions in the correspondence of Lord Gosford, 
the Colonial Secretary. The Chancellor of the Exchequer en- 
deavored to answer this speech, but in the opinion of Sir Robert 
Peel at least, the attempt was a miserable failure. Notwithstand- 
ing this triumph of eloquence, the House went into committee by 
a considerable majority. 

At this same session there was another agitation of the slavery 
question, on which Mr. Gladstone, as before, spoke in the inter- 
ests of the slaveholders. But in this speech, which occupies 
thirty-three columns in Hansard, he takes a bolder stand than 
any that he has yet assumed, and reproaches these reformers, 
who are so eager for complete emancipation that they cannot 
await the time to which they once agreed, with the encourage- 
ment which they give to slave labor in consuming the cotton 
raised in the United States. The speech also disposed of many 
of the accusations which were made against the planters, and 
proved conclusively that the condition of the negro was con- 
stantly improving, and had been doing so since the passage of 
the Act of 1833. Although this speech was on the unpopular side 
of the question, it greatly enhanced his reputation as a parlia- 
mentary orator. This, indeed, rested upon foundations which had 
been laid before this. It was his eloquence which had attracted 
Sir Eobert Peel's attention ; and in 1835, the Duke of Bucking- 
ham and Chandos had written in his Memoirs, regarding a point 
at issue: 

"If argument could have done it, they must have succeeded; fur 
among the speakers on their side were Sir Edward Knatchbull, 
Sir James Graham, Sir Eobert Inglis, Lord Stanley, Mr. W. E. 
Gladstone, Sir William Follett, Mr. Praed, and Mr. Goulburn." 

So that barely two years after his entrance on the scenes at 
St. Stephens we find his name not the last that suggested itself 
when a close observer of political events counted over those sup- 
porters of the Ministry who were remarkable for their elo- 
quence. 

Mr. Gladstone had at this time already appeared before the 
public as aii author. To him the Edinburgh Review paid this trib- 
ute, which came from Macaulay's pen : 

" The author of this volume is a young man of unblemished 
character, and of distinguished parliamentary talents, the rising 




Queen Victoria in her Coronation Robes, 1§37, 



84 Early Official Life. 

hope of those stern and unbending Tories who follow, reluctant- 
ly and mutinously, a leader whose experience and eloquence are 
indispensable to them, but whose cautious temper and moderate 
opinions they abhor. It would not be at all strange if Mr. Glad- 
stone were one of the most unpopular men in England. But we 
believe that we do him no more than justice when we say that his 
abilities and demeanor have obtained for him the respect and 
good will of all parties. His first appearance in the character 
of an author is therefore an interesting event; and it is natural 
that the gentle wishes of the public should go with him to his 
trial. * * * * We dissent from his opinions, but we admire his 
talents; we respect his integrity and benevolence; and we hope 
that he will not suffer political avocation so entirely to engross 
him as to leave him no leisure for literature or philosophy." 

The question of National Education was introduced into the 
House in June, 1839, and in the course of debate, this recently 
published work was referred to in such terms as brought the 
member for Newark upon his feet, in defense of the propositions 
which he had there enunciated, and which the opposition wished 
to apply to the bill under consideration. The fundamental princi- 
ple of his argument had been, that the propagation of religious 
truth is one of the principal ends of government, as government. 
The Ministry wished to provide free schools in which the child- 
ren of all classes, of Dissenters, Catholics, and Jews, as well as 
of the adherents of the Established Church, could be educated 
without hearing the religion of their parents exposed to insult, 
or directly contradicted by the teaching of the schools. This 
was a measure especially distasteful to the Tories, who have al- 
ways been strenuous supporters of the Establishment ; but theirs 
was the unpopular side of the question ; and Mr. Gladstone, in 
these early years, seems to have had a positive genius for get- 
ting on that side. 

In the debate on the war with China, the next year, Mr. Glad- 
stone again made a speech which was favorably commented on at 
the time. The Ministry was supported in its motion, but the 
majority was so small as to give the Conservatives ground for 
hope. The Liberal Government had for some time past beert 
steadily losing ground in the public opinion; and this was 
naturally reflected by the House of Commons, where there are 
usually enough independent or semi-independent members to de- 
prive the Ministry of that unreasoning and unwavering support 




LORD ROSEBERY-MR. GLADSTONE'S SUCCESSOR AS PREMIER 



Early Official Life. 85 

which would be theirs, if all their adherents at the time of tak- 
ing office were enthusiasts for the party, right or wrong. The 
deficit was enormous j their financial policy had been a complete 
failure ; they had alienated Dissenters by their leaning toward 
the Catholics, and Catholics by their efforts to gain the Dissent- 
ing interest. Toward the close of May, 1841, Sir Robert Peel 
moved a vote of no confidence ; it was carried by a majority of 
one. Small as this majority was, it was sufficient to show how the 
case stood j there was but one thing for the ministry to do, unless 
they resigned immediately. Parliament was at once dissolved ; 
the Government had appealed to the country. 

The appeal was answered, but not in the way which the Liber- 
als, hoping against hope, had looked for. The gain of the Tor- 
ies was far greater than their most sanguine expectations had 
pictured, and the Ministry resigned immediately after the open- 
ing of the new session. Sir Robert Peel was at once made Prime 
Minister, and among the appointments which he made was that 
of Mr. Gladstone to be Yice-President of the Board of Trade, 
and Master of the Mint. He shortly after succeeded the Earl of 
Ripon as the President of the former body, so that the fact that 
he held the subordinate position is sometimes lost sight of. 

In following the course of his parliamentary success, we have 
lost sight of his private life. In July, 1839, Mr. Gladstone mar- 
ried Miss Catherine Glynne, the daughter of Sir Stephen Rich- 
ard Glynne, of Hawarden Castle, Flintshire. This lady has been 
the true wife, the sharer in his triumphs and the consoler in de- 
feat; while her own peculiar tastes have led her to avoid, rath- 
er than seek, the social pre-eminence which the wife of such 
a man might have won, she has not shrunk from the glare 
of publicity when it was necessary to her husband's success. 
In the latter part of 1886, wishing to exonerate him from the 
charge which his enemies were making, that he had only of late 
years shown any interest in Ireland and the troubles of the 
Irish, implying that his alliance with Mr. Parnell was a mere 
trick of the office-seeker, she sent for Mr. Gill, a Nationalist, 
and one of the staff of United Ireland, that her testimony might 
be heard in his behalf. One of the statements which she then 
made shows his feeling with regard to the office which had at 
this time been allotted to him by his chief: 

" From the very outset of his political career, Mr. Gladstone's 
most ardent wish, his strongest ambition, has been to redress the 



Early Official Life. 87 

grievances of Ireland, and undertake the settlement of the Irish 
difficulty upon drastic lines. I remember very well the day upon 
which he received his first cabinet appointment under Sir Robert 
Peel. It was the same day that my niece, Lady Frederick Caven- 
dish, was born. Coming home, he threw himself into a chair, look' 
ing quite depressed. 'What did you get?' I asked. 'The 
Board of Trade/ he said, I understood his disappointment. He 
had hoped to get the Irish Secretaryship, though it was looked 
on then as a far less important post." 

But Mr. Gladstone, hampered by Tory traditions, and bound 
to the Conservatives as he was by accepting office under their 
Government, was hardly the man to have dealt with the Irish 
question at that time; and a failure then might have made men 
look with less confidence to him in the future, when he had cast 
off those shackles for the freedom to be found among the more 
progressive Liberals. 

In the beginning of the year 1840 occurred the marriage of 
the Queen. She had chosen as a husband, Prince Albert, the 
second son of the Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, and her mother's 
nephew. Unknown to himself and his future wife, Prince Al- 
bert had been carefully educated to fill this very position; but 
the match-making was so skillfully done that the two young 
people came together quite naturally, with genuine attachment 
on both sides. The preceptor of the Prince was Leopold I. of 
Belgium, who, as husband of the Princess Charlotte, had care- 
fully prepared himself for the very duties which were now to 
devolve upon his brother's son, as husband of his sister's daugh- 
ter. The early death of the Princess Charlotte had sent him 
back to Germany, there to be once more simply a younger 
brother, until elected to the throne of Belgium ; and there is 
something pathetic in the thought of Victoria and Albert taking 
up the thread of life where Charlotte and Leopold had dropped 
it. Prince Albert brought to his difficult position a sincere wish 
to be the Queen's best counselor for the good of her people; and 
although he was not at first popular, and it was long before he 
was regarded with much affection by the people, he fulfilled this 
duty nobly. 

The session of Parliament which followed Sir Robert Peel's 
appointment was destined to be a very short one; and there 
was nothing of importance to mark it in our history. There was 
much distress in the country, and the question how it wa§ to be 



88 Early Official Life. 

relieved was a serious one. Nor were the people patient under 
the existing evils ; matters were too far gone for that; tumult 
succeeded tumult; even the Queen was hooted when she appear- 
ed at a London theater. The Ministry attempted to remedy this 
by a modification of the Corn Laws, and a bill for that purpose 
was brought up at the next session. 

The Corn Laws which were in force at this time had been passed 
the year that the battle of Waterloo was fought. It was hurried 
through Parliament, despite the most emphatic protests from the 
manufacturing and commercial classes. There were riots in Lon- 
don, there were riots elsewhere; for the duty was prohibitive 
unless home-grown wheat reached the price of eighty shillings a 
quarter, and it was far below that price. Time and space do not 
allow the discussion of the principle involved, whether it is wise 
to tax one class of the community for the benefit of another, or to 
benefit one class at the expense of all others. Certain it is, that the 
Corn Laws had long been looked upon by many Englishmen as 
the chief cause of the distress which had so long existed ; vari- 
ous modifications of them had been made at different times; and 
Sir Robert Peel now proposed a plan, which was a modification 
of one which had been broached some time ago, and partly 
adopted. This was a sliding scale by which the duty was highest 
when wheat was cheapest, and gradually diminishing with the 
rise in price, until, in case of a famine, grain would be admitted 
free of duty. The trouble with the sliding scale afterward 
proved to be that other countries, from which a supply must be 
drawn in case of a short crop, were not always ready to supply 
the deficiency, no provision being made for a market which did 
not exist regularly. 

The people of Manchester had naturally been the most deter- 
mined advocates of free trade in grain, and no sooner was it rep- 
resented in Parliament than its voice was heard, demanding the 
abolition of the Corn Laws. But the experience of the late Lib- 
eral Ministry had shown that the revenue was insufficient, even 
with taxes as they were ; to reduce the income would be an act 
of folly. Under these circumstances the Conservatives came in- 
to office, expressly to uphold the Corn Laws. 

Great excitement prevailed throughout the country when this 
sliding scale was introduced. Its wisdom was questioned by Lord 
John Russell, the leader of the Opposition, in one of the ablest 
speeches which had been made upon the subject. Mr. Gladstone 



Early Official Life. 89 

answered him, in an address of at least equal ability; and the 
Government was supported by a considerable majority. This did 
not evidence the feelings of the people, however; for about this 
time the Premier, who had brought this measure forward, had 
the honor of being the chief attraction at a riot in Northamp- 
ton, where he was burned in effigy. And other towns were not 
far behind Northampton. 

The Conservatives, high tariff men as they were, became 
speedily converted to the principles of free trade by that stern 
teacher, Necessity. The session of 1842 dealt mainly with the 
question of import duty, and a complete revision of the tariff 
was the fruit of their labors. This was no light task to Mr. 
Gladstone, in the position which he now held; for the record 
shows that he was on his feet one hundred and twenty-nine times 
during this session ; and generally spoke in connection with the 
provisions of the Tariff Bill. 

Almost immediately upon the opening of the session of 1843, 
Mr. Gladstone was speaking on the question of Free Trade, and 
advocating the abolition of the Corn Laws. This, he admitted, 
could not be done at once, though he argued that the success 
which had followed the reduction of duties in the previous year 
had paved the way for it. In a second speech on the same sub- 
ject, which " bristled with facts," he indeed deprecated the im- 
mediate re-opening of the question. A month later, the Oppos- 
ition again broached the subject, but the Ministers were again 
sustained. But in these various debates, the successive divisions 
showed a steady diminution in the majorities of the Government 
which had established the tariff in force. 

In the session of 1844, appears the first important measure in 
which Mr. Gladstone was prime mover. Hitherto he had been 
in such subordinate positions that he could only figure as a sup- 
porter of others. It is true that in the previous session, acting 
as President of the Board of Trade, he had brought forward a 
bill providing for the export of machinery free of duty; but 
this was merely to repeal a law which had never been practicable, 
and which had, therefore, from the time of its passage, been a dead 
letter on the statute book. The present bill, which, like the oth- 
er, was suggested by the duties of his special office, was design- 
ed for the regulation of the railways, with special provisions re- 
garding passenger trains. This was the Act which first established 
what is known as the " Parliamentary Train." It required every 



90 Early Official Life. 

railway to start at least one train each day from each end of 
the line, which was to stop at every station, traveling at a rate 
of not less than twelve miles per hour. On this train, passen- 
gers, each with fifty pounds of luggage, were to he carried at a 
charge for each not exceeding one penny per mile. Provision 
was made for the reduction of this rate in the case of children. 
It is a regulation for which the English traveling public, espec- 
ially the poorer classes, have reason to be extremely grateful, 
and it is in force without material amendment to-day. 

The session of 1845 brought a new perplexity to the young 
statesman. Peel brought forward a measure which, in Mr. Glad- 
stone's opinion, was inconsistent with the views which had been 
expressed in the volume, " On the relations of Church and 
State/' to which reference has already been made. In such a case, 
there were two courses open to the subordinate : either to allow 
the measure to pass without protest, preserving a discreet silence 
as to his own opinions, or to resign his office, that he may be 
free to oppose a measure which he does not approve. This was 
the alternative which presented itself to Mr. Gladstone. While 
the first course does not appear to possess that straightforward- 
ness which should distinguish any man in an office of trust, it 
has not always seemed inconsistent with honor, by those who 
have been called upon to decide the question for themselves ; 
the ministers of the Crown have sometimes differed about such 
minor points of policy, but considered that their agreement up- 
on so many more subjects entitled them still to retain office. 

Mr. Gladstone, however, was in a somewhat unusual position; 
and one in which he might easily have thought himself excus- 
able for retaining his post in the Government. Entering upon 
public life as an uncompromising Tory, the admirer of Canning, 
the protege of that Duke of Newcastle who had so vehemently 
opposed the Whig measures of Reform, he had come to find that 
many of the views which he at first held would not endure the 
test of mature consideration. The Tory party had been advan- 
cing since the days of George IV. and his brother; and the 
brilliant young statesman, who had been characterized as the 
rising hope of the most intolerant of the party, had long since 
outgrown that designation, and was now in the van of change, 
of progress. The Conservatives were losing their hold upon 
him, though they did not know it, and he would perhaps have 
been the first to deny such a charge. But leaving out of con- 



Marly Official Life. 91 

sideration that great change which resulted in his enrolment in 
the ranks of the Liberals, we find a minor one in his opinions 
of the relations of Church and State. He no longer held the 
views which he had publicly avowed seven years before ; he had 
come to acknowledge the justice of Macaulay's strictures upon 
his arguments; but to announce this change, at this juncture, 
would have the appearance of seeking to modify his opinions by 
his chiefs, in order to retain his office. He accordingly placed 
his resignation in the hands of the Prime Minister, by whom it 
was accepted. Old politicians generally looked upon this action 
as Quixotic; it would have been so regarded by some if there 
had not been the change of opinion which might have excused 
it in more scrupulous minds ; but there was not one who did not 
secretly respect the man who was capable of making such a sac- 
rifice for the sake of a conscientiousness few could understand. 

Tbe question which Mr. Gladstone was willing to support as a 
private member of the House in 1845, though his condemnation 
of its principle in 1838 drove him from office, was the increase 
in the endowment of Maynooth College. This institution, loca- 
ted at a village of the same name in County Kildare, was found- 
ed by the British Government in 1795, when the destruction of 
the French schools by the Revolutionists had deprived the Cath- 
olic Irish of the privileges of education for their priesthood. It 
had been supported by annual grants, the continuance of which 
ivas assured by the act of Union of 1800; but these grants had 
for many years been insufficient for the purpose. The buildings 
had fallen into ruin, and there was no money to repair them; 
the apparatus and library needed renewing ; the yearly income 
was not sufficient to pay the professors even the scantiest stip- 
end. Under the circumstances, the Government could do no 
less than make its gift large enough to serve the purpose which 
it intended, or to withdraw it altogether. The increase was bit- 
terly opposed by a considerable party in Parliament, but the 
measure was carried by no small majority. 

The retiring minister had been highly complimented by Sir 
Robert Peel and Lord John Russell, the leader of the Opposi- 
tion, on the occasion when his resignation was announced in the 
House of Commons. The change in the Ministry was of course 
no victory for their opponents, for Mr. Gladstone continued to 
give his unqualified support to the Conservatives. The bill for 
the establishment in Ireland of what a rabid Church of England 



92 Early Official Life. 

man dubbed "godless colleges/' a name which was speedily 
caught up by O'Connell and his Catholic followers, was warmly 
supported by him ; and to that measure, as well as to the one 
for the increase of the Maynooth endowment, he lent all the aid 
of his now renowned eloquence. 

Peel had come into power for the support of the Corn Laws ; 
it had been necessary to modify them at once, if they were to be 
retained at all ; but the experience of five years under the form 
which they had assumed then had not been favorable to their 
perpetuation. Dec. 4th, 1845, the Times announced that the 
speech from the Throne would recommend the abolition of these 
regulations; the statement was indignantly denied by the other 
journals, but was admitted by them to be true after several days 
had passed ; and the event confirmed it. Many of Peel's col- 
leagues were as much opposed to the repeal of these laws as they 
had ever been ; and two of them, when at a meeting of the Cab- 
binet the First Lord of the Treasury stated what the course of 
the Government must be, declined to support that course. The 
difficulties by which he was surrounded seemed to be irremedi- 
able; and on the 5th of December he tendered his resignation to 
the Queen. 

Lord John Russell had been active in promoting a general dis- 
trust of the wisdom of the Corn Laws, though his action in this 
respect was stigmatized as a mere bid for office. Whatever it 
was, it secured for him the appointment to the coveted post, for 
the Queen immediately sent for him. Peel had signified his de- 
sire to co-operate with a Liberal Government for the repeal of 
the obnoxious laws, and this was a most welcome assurance to 
Lord John. But a new obstacle arose: both Lord Palmerston 
and Lord Grey ought to be included in such a Ministry ; indeed, 
it could not well stand without them; Lord Palmerston would 
not accept anything but the Foreign Office, and if Lord Palmer- 
ston was made Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Lord 
Grey would have nothing to do with it. The reason for this per- 
versity was, that Lord Palmerston had a high opinion of his 
ability in conducting business with other countries ; Lord Grey, 
upon the other hand, dreaded his "talent of keeping perpetual- 
ly open all vital questions and dangerous controversies." 

Confronted by this difficulty, the Liberal leader decided that it 
would be impossible to form a cabinet which could stand, and 
so informed the Queen, who at once sent for the late Premier 



Early Official Life. 93 

and reinstated him in office. Of the two ministers who had re- 
signed, and thus compelled Sir Robert Peel to follow their ex- 
ample, the Duko of Buccleugh was persuaded to remain in the 
ministry; Lord Stanley retired, and his post of Colonial Secre- 
tary was filled by Mr. Gladstone. 

The member for Newark had been elected because he was the 
protege of the duke — the Duke of Newcastle's nominee, not- 
withstanding his ingenious evasion on the occasion of his first 
election. But this nobleman was a warm advocate of the prin- 
ciple of Protection ; as an upholder of Free Trade Mr. Glad- 
stone could never have gained his support. Accordingly, on the 
5th of January, 1846, he issued an address to his constituents in- 
forming them of the necessity for his retirement as their repre- 
sentative, since he no longer held the principles on which he had 
been elected. Newark was too thoroughly in favor of Protec- 
tion, and perhaps too much under the influence of the duke, to re- 
tain as her member the young man who had won such speedy rec- 
ognition; and Mr. Gladstone was left without a seat in the 
House of Commons during the session in which the Corn Laws 
were repealed. 

Nor had he been simply the follower of others in regard to 
the measure to which he thus sacrificed his seat in the House ; it 
was no secret that he was the most advanced in opinion of all 
the members of the Cabinet, in his desire for Free Trade. In 
the preceding year, he had published a pamphlet entitled, " Re- 
marks Upon Recent Commercial Legislation," which would have 
indicated this most clearly, had nothing else been said by him. 
But he has been justly regarded as one of the pioneers of the 
movement — perhaps the earliest. 

Though the subject of this biography was not entitled to speak 
upon the momentous subject for which he had thus paved the 
way, a brief paragraph respecting the Ministry which carried it 
through will not be out of place. The motion was of course made 
by the Premier, and supported by him in a powerful speech. " He 
played upon the House of Commons as on an old fiddle," said 
Disraeli, who heard him from the Opposition benches. But the 
marvelously eloquent speech once ended, he was exposed to 
such a torrent of personal abuse as has seldom fallen to the lot 
of any one statesman to endure. Calmly he acknowledged that 
he had opposed the repeal, as he had opposed other measures 
which his Government had carried through ; notably, Catholic 



94 Early Official Life. 

Emancipation and Parliamentary Reform; but he denied 
that these changes of opinion were sudden, or produced by any- 
thing but an intense desire to do what was best for the nation. 
The measure was carried by a triumphant majority; but the al- 
most simultaneous defeat of the Ministry upon the question of 
the suppression of outrages in Ireland caused a change in the 
make-up of the Government. 

Sir Robert Peel having tendered his resignation, Lord John 
Russell was again entrusted with the task of forming a Ministry, 
and this time was more successful than he had been in the prev- 
ious year. Sir Robert Peel was never again called to the high 
office in which he had accomplished so many notable things. 

A general election took place in the fall of 1847, and Mr. Glad- 
stone stood for the University of Oxford. Sir R. H. Inglis, who 
had sat for the University in the previous session, had a safe 
seat, so that the contest lay between Mr. Gladstone and a Tory 
of the most pronounced typp. The contest was one of the bit- 
terest that had ever been waged in the town, and men came for 
many miles to exercise their right of suffrage at the University. 
The Convocation-house, where the voting took place, was so 
densely crowded that one gentleman was carried out fainting. 
The total number of votes polled was greater than at any pre- 
ceding election, and Mr. Gladstone was returned by a decisive 
majority. 

But while Oxford had thus recognized the political genius of 
one of her own sons, the City of London was exercising a similar 
right, and electing a man whose name is perhaps more widely 
known in connection with money than that of any other family. 
The return of Baron Rothschild was the peculiar feature of this 
election of 1847. Up to this time, various changes had been made 
in the laws relating to Jews, but the member of Parliament still 
swore to perform his duty " on the true faith of a Christian." 
Nor was he the only elected officer who so vowed; the Lord 
Mayor, the Aldermen, and even the Councilmen of the City of 
London, were obliged to make use of the same phrase; and of 
course the Jew was excluded from all these offices. To remedy 
this, Lord John Russell brought forward a resolution immediate- 
ly after the opening of Parliament, affirming that Jews were eli- 
gible to all offices and functions to which Roman Catholics were 
admitted. The reason for this limitation is obvious when we 
recollect that the State and Church are closely connected in tho 




Mr. Gladstone in 1846. 



95 



96 Early Official Life. 

mother country ; and it is only to be expected that Non-confor- 
mists, whatever be their creed, should be rigidly excluded from 
those offices which, although civil, may be called upon for some 
decision or action in connection with the Church. 

The resolution which Lord John proposed was bitterly oppos- 
ed by Sir Robert Inglis, the same who had named the Queen's 
Colleges in Ireland " godless colleges," and who seems to have 
been, at all times and under all circumstances, a supporter of the 
Establishment. His colleague, Mr. Gladstone, on the other hand, 
upheld the Liberal opinions of the Prime Minister, and made 
one of his poAverful speeches in favor of admitting the Jew to 
Parliament. He admitted that he had opposed the previous bills, 
which had given privileges to this class ; but since they had 
passed, he saw no reason why this should be denied. The con- 
stituencies were mixed, and the representation ought to be so ; 
if the Jew were permitted a voice in the elections, he ought to 
have a voice in Parliament. It had been urged that this tended 
to un-Christianize Parliament; but so long as the constituencies 
were mainly Christian, he replied, the House of Commons would 
be so. 

The logic of the speech was unanswerable, but, as was remark- 
ed at the time, had it been made before instead of after the elec- 
tion, the speaker would not have been returned by the Univer- 
sity of Oxford. 

The country had long been in a state that was far from tran- 
quil. The successive failures of the crops for several seasons had 
produced a terrible condition among the poor; we are only for- 
getful of the state of England at this period because the people 
of Ireland were so much more to be pitied; but in ordinary 
times, when there was no darker background against which to 
place it, the distress in England in 1847-8 would be remembered 
with dread, even in other countries. As before, the situation in 
France was reflected in England ; after eighteen years of rule, 
the Orleans dynasty, which had displaced the strictly legitimate 
successor of Louis XYL, was in turn displaced by the Second Pie- 
public, which had been established with a provisional govern- 
ment. The agitators demanded a Charter for the English peo- 
ple; the latter phrase meaning, as a historian of our own time 
had pointed out, not the whole people, for the heretofore ruling 
classes were ignored ; but the wage-earners. It was to be a free 
country for the lower classes, but something else for the higher 



98 Early Official Life. 

classes. They were from this demand termed "Chartists." There 
were, as is generally the case in any extensive movement, men 
who were really law-abiding citizens, but who saw the existing 
evils, and hoped to reform them. There were also many who 
longed for a collision with the authorities; enthusiasts, perhaps, 
but still earnest in their wish to achieve better things for them- 
selves and their fellows. Excitement ran to a high pitch in Lon- 
don when it was learned that a monster procession of the Chart- 
ists was to be formed and to march to the doors of the two 
houses of Parliament, where they would demand the rights of 




Duke of Wellington in 1850. 

the English people. A repetition of the scenes of the French 
Revolution was seriously feared, for the Chartists made no se- 
cret of the fact that a republican form of government was one 
of their demands. 

The Duke of Wellington took charge of the preparations and 
arrangements for defying any outbreak against the public peace. 
He acted with extreme caution, so that though there were sol- 
diers everywhere, they were so concealed as not to add to the 



Early Official Life. 99 

alarm, or allow the Chartists any advantage from knowing their 
position beforehand. Nearly two hundred thousand Londoners, in 
addition to the regular force of military and police, enrolled 
themselves as special constables. Among the names of those who 
were sworn in for this duty, we find Prince Louis Napoleon, soon 
to be elected President of the French Republic; the Duke of 
Norfolk, Lord Derby, and Mr. Gladstone. 

The Chartist meeting was held, as appointed; though there 
were not nearly so many present as had been predicted. Their 
leaders found it would not be prudent to attempt the procession, 
and forbade it. The petition, however, was duly appointed, hav- 
ing, as was declared by Mr. O'Connor, fully five million seven 
hundred thousand signatures. It was duly referred to a com- 
mittee, who set to work to examine the signatures, with the as- 
sistance of an army of clerks. As a result of their labors, it 
appeared that the number of signatures was not more than one- 
third of what had been stated ; but of course the desires of near- 
ly two millions of the Queen's subjects deserved to be treated 
with respect. An analysis of the nature of the signatures, how- 
ever, reassured the frightened people. Eight per cent. of the names 
were those of women; whole sheets were signed by the same 
hand ; many signatures were repeated again and again ; but what 
made the whole thing ridiculous was the fact that the names of 
the Queen, the Prince Consort, the stern old Duke of Wellington, 
Sir Robert Peel, Lord John Russell, and others who would be 
equally likely to sign a petition for the institution of a republi- 
can form of government in England, appeared side by side with 
the names of characters in the popular novels of the day and 
the most curious nicknames imaginable. These were repeated 
again and again. The Chartist leaders had not tried to deceive 
by this childish list of names ; they had simply left the sheets 
where any one who desired might sign, and the wags had had 
some fun out of it. As the story got abroad, the English people, 
including those classes who were not recognized by the Chartists 
as having any rights, had more fun out of it; and the great 
Chartist revolution became a byword and laughing-stock forever. 

It is well for a country when a grave danger thus ends in 
laughter, but it must be remembered that the situation in Eng- 
land was not by any means what it had been in France during 
the last years of Louis XYL's reign, Avhcn the accumulated evils 
of centuries were revenged. The great danger in England was 




100 



Early Official Life. 101 

in Eeform being carried forward at too great strides. That dan- 
ger, the Conservative party may be said to have averted. But 
the time was coming when a member of that party could leave 
it for the Liberal, as a direct and legitimate result of the princi- 
ples which had guided him in the former organization, but 
which, carried a little further, landed him among his late oppon- 
ents. The transition had already begun, with his conversion to 
Free Trade, his advocacy of the extension of privileges to the 
Jews, his change of opinion with regard to the relations of 
Church and State. "We shall see how gradually it became patent 
to Mr. Gladstone's own mind that he was no longer a member 
of that party in whose opinions his earliest youth had been 
trained. 




CHAPTER IV. 

GLADSTONE VS. DISRAELI. 

Kepeal of the Corn Laws — Disraeli in Parliament — His Extravagant Rhetoric- 
Pithy Sayings and Merciless Satire — Free Traders and Protectionists— 
Division Among the Tories — Gladstone's Speech on the Navigation Laws 
— His Growing Liberalism — The Condition of Canada — Colonial Govern- 
ments — Remonstrance of France and Russia — Some Account of Lord Pal- 
merston — The Celebrated John Bright — Mr. Gladstone Defends His Ac- 
tion — Ecclesiastical Titles Bill — Mr. Disraeli in the Cabinet— Gladstone's 
Eulogy on the Duke of Wellington— Overthrow of the Ministry. 
l 

'B have reserved until now all mention of a man who 

had come into prominence in connection with the de- 
bate on the Repeal of the Corn Laws, becauso it was at 
the time of which we are now writing that he first came into no- 
ticeable contact with Mr. Gladstone. The rivalry which for 
many years existed between the two was not yet fairly begun; 
its commencement, as we shall find, was delayed some ycar.« 
from the year 1848 ; but the march of events will leave us little 
space for retrospection when the time shall come for recording 
the incipiency of the conflict between Gladstone and Disraeli. 

The great leader of the Liberal party began life as a Tory; 
the late chief of the Tory party for so many years began life as 
an advanced Liberal, a Radical. Disraeli's sentiments, however, 
at the outset of his career, seem not to have been so firmly fix- 
ed, by education and other circumstances, as Gladstone's were; 
as a well-known critic of the men of our own times puts it, he 
was rather in search of opinions than in possession of them. 
However this may have been, it was as a Liberal candidate that 
he offered himself to the electors of Wycombe in the same year 
that Gladstone was returned from Newark; he was recommend- 
ed by such apostles of Radicalism as O'Connell and Hume; but 
he was defeated. Nothing daunted by this lack of success, he 
presented himself again and again ; but it was not until the 
fourth time that, owing to the influence of Mr. Wyndham Lewis, 
who foresaw something of the genius for government which the 
102 




Queen Victoria at IJer Accession to the Throne. 



103 



104 



Gladstone vs. Disraeli. 



young man was to develop, he was at last entitled to speak in 
the House of Commons. It was the first Parliament after the 
accession of Queen Victoria in which he gained the long-coveted 
seat. 

The maiden speech of Gladstone, as we have already seen, was 
almost forced upon him, by the direct attacks which were made up- 
on his father and his agents. It was marked by modesty, by dig- 
nity, and by earnestness. He was hardly known at the time ; his 
associates saw in him only a youth whom influence had sent to 




Disraeli in 1830. 

occupy a seat, the son of a man prominent in commercial circles, 
and well thought of for his efforts to secure local improvements; 
he was an essentially middle-class man, and there was no indica- 
tion that he was possessed of more than mediocre powers. But 
the son of the author of so many excellent essays was of a dif- 
ferent stamp ; he was already well known by the name which he 
had won for himself in literature - ; " Vivian Grey" had been 



Gladstone vs. Disraeli. 105 

published nine years before, and had been followed by other 
works, but still Disraeli was looked upon with some contempt; 
nor were his writings at that day met with the respect which they 
have since then commanded. He was regarded as an eccentric 
adventurer, who might have been dangerous if his affectations 
had not been so ridiculous. When, therefore, he rose to his feet 
for the first time in the House of Commons, the members of that 
august body prepared themselves for enjoyment. He was dress- 
ed "in a bottle-green frock-coat and a waistcoat of white, of the 
Dick Swiveller pattern, the front of which exhibited a network 
of glittering chains ; large fancy -pattern pantaloons, and a black 
tie above which no shirt-collar was visible, completed the out- 
ward man. A countenance lividly pale, set out by a pair of in- 
tensely black eyes, and a broad but not very high forehead, 
overhung by clustering ringlets of coal-black hair, which, comb- 
ed away from the right temple, fell in bunches of small well-oil- 
ed ringlets over the left cheek." His style was always extrava- 
gent, his rhetoric constantly degenerated into vulgarity ; an 
American critic has said of him that he was essentially barbaric 
in his actions and feelings ; at this date, then, when we natural- 
ly expect to find all the faults of the parliamentarian most 
strongly marked, because contact with others has not toned 
them down to that smooth level which is the meeting-place of 
great genius and mediocrity, he did not disappoint the House. 
His manner was intensely theatric, his gestures wild and extrav- 
agant. There was nothing in the speech itself which would, if an- 
other had delivered it, have excited the risibilities of the House ; 
but the reputation, the appearance, the manner of the speaker, 
all combined against him; there was no serious attention paid to 
what he said; he was constantly interrupted by laughter and de- 
rision ; and at last he sat down with that threat which has be- 
come historic, as the expression of a self-confidence which is too 
seldom justified : " I have begun, several times, many things, ana 
I have often succeeded at last ; ay, sir, and though I «it down 
now, the time will come when you will hear me." 

Recorded as it is in the newspapers of the time, and in that 
compilation of speeches delivered in Parliament which is re- 
garded as the highest authority, it cannot be said that this pre- 
diction was manufactured by some admirer long after it had 
been fulfilled. It was the indomitable resolution of the man as- 
serting itself; a perseverance which had seated him in Parliament 



106 



Gladstone vs. Disraeli. 



after three successive and decisive defeats, and which accomplished 
the fulfillment of what had been spoken. The time did come 
when the House listened to him. 

Though Mr. Disraeli's first candidature had been as a Liberal, 
he had stood at the election of 1837 as a Conservative; and by 
1846 he had become identified with the extreme wing of that 
party. The action of Sir Robert Peel and his illustrious young 
colleague in espousing the cause of Free Trade was not followed by 
all the members of the party; it rather marked a division among 

the Conservatives ; and 
it was this division of 
strength which brought 
about the fall of the Min- 
istry, immediately after 
the success which was 
achieved by the Repeal 
Act. Disraeli had persists 
ed in his efforts to gain 
the ear of the House and 
had at last succeeded. He 
was second only to Lord 
George Bentinck in the 
leadership of the men who 
still clung to Protection; 
and his speeches in the 
House, during the debate 
on that famous measure 
which had made the name 
of Peel best known, were 
received with an attention 
which was in itself 




Lord Odo Russell. 



was in itseii an 
eloquent commentary on the progress which the man had made. 
Terse epigrams and merciless satire marked his speeches through- 
out — words which could be caught up and repeated, and again ap- 
plied to the men and measures which he thus characterized. This 
indeed is the main power which Disraeli's speeches possessed — the 
coining of phrases which were readily remembered, as the expres- 
sion, " Sublime mediocrity,'' which he then applied, not without 
some justice, to the Prime Minister. 

Though the Free Traders carried the day against the Protec- 
tionists, it was a long time before the» two wings of the party 



Gladstone vs. Disraeli. 107 

would re-unite upon any question of public policy long enough 
to overthrow the Liberal Ministry. The more moderate Conserv- 
atives still held to Peel as their leader, while the extreme Tories 
looked to Bentinck and Disraeli. There was a time coming, and 
that not far off, when the former party would find themselves 
without their leader ; but that came as a surprise to friend and 
foe ; and when it did come, there was at least one of his adher- 
ents, and that one the man whose life we are now following, who 
did not unite with the Protectionists, but who, in the increased 
political independence thus gained, separated himself still more 
widely from the Tory party. 

This division of the Tories prevented the return of the party 
to power at this juncture, when the Conservatives were natural- 
ly the power to which the people looked in times of agitation 
from without; and the Whig Government was steadily growing 
unpopular. The one thing in which the Eussell Ministry had 
failed, was in reducing the deficit which then existed. This 
amounted to more than two millions of pounds, and the Chan- 
cellor of the Exchequer announced, that, in his judgment, the 
Income Tax, which would expire that year, would have to be re- 
newed for five years longer, and even increased. This had been 
imposed while Peel was in office, and the ex-premier now de- 
fended, from the Opposition benches, the course proposed by the 
Ministiy. Disraeli also was in opposition, not only to the Min- 
istry, but to the leaders of the Conservatives; representing, as 
the extreme Tories did, the landed interest, he was the natural op- 
ponent of a measure which bore most heavily upon the wealthy 
men of leisure. His speech was a most characteristic one, spark- 
ing with epigram. The blue-book of the Import Duties Commit- 
tee he dubbed " the greatest work of the imagination which the 
nineteenth century has produced ;" and having thus character- 
ized the authority upon which many of the statements of the 
Ministry and their friends in opposition were based, he declared 
himself a " Free Trader, but not a free-booter of the Manchester 
school," and argued at length to show that Peel's policy had not 
been the success which he had just claimed it was. 

The House had listened with lively interest to this speech, as it 
always had done to Disraeli since he had convinced them that 
he was not to be laughed down. He was answered by Gladstone, 
in a speech which was no less characteristic of him than the an- 
swer to Peel had been of the Tory. The Conservative took but 



Gladstone vs. Disraeli. 109 

little note of the personalities of the speech, which had been the 
most brilliant part of it. He answered them by dismissing them 
as unworthy serious consideration, in the discussion of a meas- 
ure affecting the welfare of the nation. Bringing from his marv- 
elous memory fact after fact to support the cause of his chief, he 
clinched each argument with statistics which made it unanswer- 
able ; and with a wealth of language which, in the mouth of anj T 
other man, would but have seemed the weakness of redundancy, 
he made every word tell against the arguments which he was 
opposing. Finally, with a dignified appeal to the now thor- 
oughly serious House, he sat down. The measure was carried. 

This session was also marked by the delivery of an important 
speech on the Navigation Laws by Mr. Gladstone, in which he 
opposed the sweeping changes advocated by the Government; 
the question was so delayed, however, that the final considera- 
tion had to be postponed until the next session of Parliament. 
But leaving out of consideration the rainor speeches upon such 
subjects of transitory importance as the cession of Vancouver's 
Island to the Hudson Bay Company and the Sugar Duties Bill, 
the most noteworthy speech of the session which fell from his 
lips was that upon the measure designed to legalize diplomatic 
relations with the Yatican. 

Since the time when Henry YIIL had openly defied the pow- 
er of the Pope and announced himself as the Head of the Eng- 
lish Church, the English Government had held no formal rela- 
tions with the Court ofEome. Whatever communications might 
be absolutely necessary were made in an underhand and round- 
about manner which was hardly consistent with the dignity of 
either court. The bill which was now brought forward was 
most severely condemned by many statesmen of the day as 
likely to offend both parties by the moderation of its terms; the 
Catholics by the concessions which were demanded from the 
apostolic see, and the Protestants by the concessions which were 
made to the same power. Mr. Gladstone supported the bill, 
though he admitted that there were several reasons why it was 
painful for him to do so. The question had been brought to their 
consideration, he said, at an unfortunate time ; for such was the 
state of affairs in Italy that it might prove to have been unneces- 
sary to legislate upon this question. But the enactment of the law 
establishing the Irish Colleges had made it absolutely necessar}- 
to conduct negotiations with the Pope. As long as the actual 



110 Gladstone vs. Disraeli. 

title of the sovereign of England was assailed by the Pope, it 
was right and proper that all communication with the Vatican 
should be forbidden; but for more than a century the Papal 
authority had ceased to stand in this inimical relation; and 
there was no real reason why diplomatic channels of communi- 
cation should not be reopened; and he urged upon the House 
the necessity of promoting the peace of Ireland by every pos- 
sible means, and showed that to preserve this it was necessary 
to have free communication with the power so highly regarded 
by the Irish as a religious authority. 

We have stated this argument at some length, as showing to 
what an advanced position Mr. Gladstone had come, since the 
publication of his work on Church and State. The whole peri- 
od from 1840 to 1855, may justly be regarded as a period of 
transition ; he was outgrowing the traditions of his youth, and 
was becoming fixed in those opinions of which he afterward be- 
came one of the most eminent expounders and upholders, if not, 
indeed, the first in rank. 

This increasing liberalism in sentiment was still further evi- 
denced by his speeches during the same session upon a measure 
which Lord John Eussell brought forward, relative to the oaths 
which the members of Parliament were obliged to take; and in 
a subsequent debate upon the subject of Church Eates. 

In the session of 1849, the President of the Board of Trade 
again brought forward the question of modifying the Navigation 
Laws; and the moderate changes which were proposed by the 
Minister were sup-ported by Mr. Gladstone, with certain sugges- 
tions for change which were resisted by the Ministry, though 
the bill was finally modified into a sort of a compromise between 
the original measure and the proposed amendments. At a later 
stage of the proceedings, Mr. Disraeli spoke, with the usual 
amount of personal invective. It was now directed against Mr. 
Gladstone, who had yielded in some degree to the Board of 
Trade, to prevent the total lack of action upon this important 
measure. Mr. Gladstone's reply to these strictures closed with 
these words : u I am perfectly satisfied to bear his sarcasm, good- 
humored and brilliant as it is, while I can appeal to his judg- 
ment as to whether the step which I have taken was unbecoming 
in one who conscientiously differs from him on the freedom of 
trade, and endeavors to realize it; because, so far from its being 
the cause of the distress of the country, it has been, under the 



Gladstone vs. Disraeli. Ill 

mercy of God, the most signal and effectual means of mitigating 
this distress, and accelerating the dawn of the day of returning 
prosperity." The tone of this reply to a bitter personal attack, 
shows most conclusively what has been frequently claimed for 
Gladstone, that he has no trace of personal bitterness in his na- 
ture; that his opposition of measures does not imply his enmity 
toward the men who support them; and that he frequently felt 
the most sincere admiration for the men whom he most persist- 
ently fought. 

The condition of Canada again came up for consideration in 
this session, and Mr. Gladstone spoke several times, both in the 
House and in committee, supporting the right of Parliament to 
interfere in all imperial concerns. His direct opponent in this 
question was Mr. Roebuck, who had before acted as agent for 
the Canadians, though he was now a member of Parliament. 
In the opinion of Lord John Russell, the course which Mr. 
Gladstone recommended would tend to aggravate the troubles 
in Canada, where the public peace had already been violated by 
many riots, some of them widespread. The question could not 
be decided in that session, but frequently came up for discus- 
sion, the House being desirous that the matter might be in 
such shape as to show the various colonies, particularly those 
most interested, what was likely to be the course pursued; that 
the colonial assemblies might be able to make such suggestions 
as would improve the course to be taken. Mr. Gladstone's ex- 
perience in the Colonial Office of course made his statements of 
value ; and although no direct action was taken, he seems to 
have had no small part in modifying the original opinions of 
many member on this subject. He was already a r»ower in the 
House. 

During this session there was brought forward that bill which 
appears to possess perennial interest for a small, though con- 
stantly increasing, class of British legislators — of whom the 
Prince of Wales is now the head — intended to legalize marriage 
with a deceased wife's sister. We find Mr. Gladstone strongly 
opposing the bill, on theological, social and moral grounds. The 
bill was, as usual, supported only by a minority. 

The session of 1850 opened with a discussion of the Poor 
Laws of the kingdom ; a most important subject, in view of the 
distress so generally prevailing. In this debate Mr. Gladstone 
appears as the supporter of Mr. Disraeli, who made the motion 




112 



Gladstone vs. Disraeli. 118 

for the consideration of these regulations. The Free-Trader, 
however, expressly reserved the right to withdraw his support 
if the Protectionist ventured to introduce any peculiar doctrine 
of his section of the party into the question • but the motion 
was lost by a small majority. It is to be noted that in this case 
Sir Eobert Peel and Mr. Gladstone took opposite sides of the 
question. 

The subject of Colonial G-overnments was also one which oc- 
cupied the attention of British legislators at this time ; and when 
the Prime Minister unfolded the policy of the Government, we 
find Mr. Gladstone the earnest supporter of those amendments 
which were calculated to emancipate the colonies from the rule 
of the central power in as many respects as were consistent with 
their dependence finally upon the mother country. "When he saw 
that this view of the question would not be adopted by a majority 
of the members, he endeavored to delay the final decision until the 
Colonial Governments should have an opportunity of express- 
ing themselves upon a question in which they were so deeply 
interested ; but although his arguments were based upon privi- 
leges that had been given to some colonies, and should not 
therefore, be withheld from any, his motion to delay was lost by 
a very considerable majority. It is curious to note that among 
those who then supported him, as appears from the list of those 
who, in division, voted for his motion, were some of the men 
who have since most persistently opposed him, Disraeli among 
the number. 

"We again find the old question of the slave-trade revived in 
this session, in the form of a debate upon restoring the duties 
upon sugar grown by slave labor. England had for some time 
been endeavoring to put an end to the slave trade, having en- 
tered into treaties with other countries to maintain armed ves- 
sels along the coast of Africa for that purpose j but this had 
been pronounced futile by no less an authority than Sir Fowell 
Buxton, who had been so prominent in the measures for aboli- 
tion. Though Mr. Gladstone conceded the necessity of Pro- 
tection in this instance, his support did not bring success to the 
motion. 

Passing over the debate on the inquiry into the condition of 
the English Universities, in which Mr. Gladstone opposed the 
issuing of a Boyal Commission, we next hear of him in connec- 
tion with the troubles with Greece. Perhaps there never was more 



114 Gladstone vs: Disraeli. 

smoke with less fire than in these same Greek troubles. Vari- 
ous outrages had been committed by Greeks against British 
citizens; but they were of such a nature as might have been 
readily repaired if the Greek Government had been a little less 
dilatory and the British a little less impatient. Many of the 
claims were absurdly exaggerated ; one of the complainants 
was Don Pacifico, a Jew of Portuguese descent, a native of Gib- 
raltar, a subject of Great Britain, and a resident of Athens; the 
house of this cosmopolitan gentleman had been destroyed by an 
angry mob, and he wanted compensation for it and its contents ; 
the justice of his claim may be inferred from the fact that he 
rated his pillow-cases as worth ten pounds each. Others there 
were whose claims possessed more moderation, but the Greek 
Government seems, at this lapse of time, entirely justifiable in 
its delays. Lord Palmerston, however, who was at the head of 
the Foreign Office, thought that the efforts of England to assist 
Greece in maintaining her independence, deserved some consid- 
eration ; and had, besides, taken up the idea that the represen- 
tees of other powers at the Court of Athens were constantly 
caballing against England. An English fleet was sent to the 
Pirseus, and blockaded that port, seizing all the vessels of the 
Greek Government and of private merchants which it found 
there. 

France and Russia remonstrated at this high-handed pro- 
ceeding; the Foreign Secretary, who was always inclined to re- 
sent interference with his independence of action, replied, with 
due formality, that it was a matter wholly between Great Brit- 
ain and Greece, and that other Powers had nothing to do with 
it. This somewhat brusque reply did not carry with it the 
weight which was intended, and both France and Eussia persist- 
ed until the matter was made a question for international arbi- 
tration, and finally settled in that way. 

But while it was still undecided, the debate in both Houses 
of Parliament was keen, and in some respects entitled to rank 
among the most remarkable which have ever been heard there; 
certainly, there was never such a flood of eloquence poured 
forth about such trivial questions before or since. The course 
of Lord Palmerston was regarded as a very high-handed pro- 
ceeding, and a vote of censure was proposed in the House of 
Lords; to offset this, Mr. Eoebuck, an independent member of 
the House, was induced to bring forward a motion affirming 



Gladstone vs. Disraeli. 115 

that the policy of the Government was approved by the 
Commons. This was a cunning device to entrap the mem- 
bers who did not wholly approve of the action of Palmerston, 
but were unwilling to condemn the general policy of the Gov- 
ernment, into an expression favorable to the particular action 
then under consideration. Lord Palmerston had supported his 
course in one of the most brilliant speeches ever heard in the 
House of Lords. All the arguments based upon the triviality of 
the claims or the character and station of the men who desired 
redress, he answered with the unanswerable one that there was 
no man entitled to protection at the hands of the British Gov- 
ernment whom that Government would not protect, be he ever 
so lowly or even ridiculous. Eidicule and laughter were out of 
place when the smallest right of a British subject, violated by a 
foreign power, was to be redressed. It was in this famous speech 
that he used the comparison between the privileges of a Roman 
citizen and these of a British subject, and protested that one 
should be as safe as the other had been. The oration was a mar- 
velous one, occupying full five hours in the delivery, full of 
facts, names, dates, figures, references of all kinds, but deliver- 
ed without the help of a single note. But all was summed up in 
the one phrase, Civis Bomanus sum, and it was that which carried 
the day for the speaker, in spite of all opposition. 

But there were those in the House of Commons, who, as far as 
argument could reply to enthusiasm, were quite capable of an- 
swering this speech. We pass over the defense of Palmerston's 
policy by Mr. Cockburn, since Lord Chief Justice of England, a 
speech which was only second to Palmerston's own as a brilliant 
defense, and which first assured the rank of the speaker as an 
orator; and the " calm, grave, studiously moderate remon- 
strance of Sir Robert Peel." The most exhaustive answer, and 
the one upon which the Opposition chiefly relied as an expres- 
sion oi their opinion, was Mr. Gladstone's. He put the Roman 
citizen business in the strong light of common sense ; the Roman 
was the representative of the conqueror, a member of a privi- 
leged caste, a citizen of a nation which had one law for him and 
another for the subject world; the British subject, on the other 
hand, should claim only such privileges as his Government was 
willing to grant to others. But it was all of no avail, contrast- 
ed as it must be with the brilliancy of Palmerston ; the British 
subject was at least the equal of the Roman citizen, and the 



Gladstone vs. Disraeli. Ill 

course of the Government which maintained this was approved. 

It is pleasing to find this utterance of Peel on this occasion 
free from that bitterness which is apt to creep into political con- 
troversies; and to learn that he had spoken in the highest praise 
of the eloquence of the man whose policy he thought wrong. 
We say that this generosity is pleasing, for this was to be the 
last debate in which the great Tory was to take part; and his 
life had not been spent in bitter struggles, but in earnest, ones. 
Leaving the House of Commons early on the morning of June 
29th, 1850 (for the division on this question was not taken until 
four in the morning), he was thrown from his horse the afternoon 
of the same day, and died July 2nd, from the injuries received. 
His death took place at a comparatively early age, for he was 
sixty-two, an age at which many an English statesman has been 
in the very heyday of his career. Indeed, Palmerston, who was 
some years older, was just beginning to taste success; and the 
examples of Gladstone and Disraeli, who were premiers at the 
respective ages of sixty and sixty-three for the first time, are 
other instances of the late hour at which the highest success is 
often achieved. Although Peel's health had for some time been 
so bad that he had announced his intention to live a quieter life, 
there is little doubt that the growing unpopularity of the Min- 
istry would soon have brought about their resignation, when 
Peel must again have been placed at the head of affairs. 

It is idle to speculate upon the turn which English politics 
would have taken, in case Peel had lived to secure a speedy Con- 
servative victory; nor do our limits allow it. His death was re- 
garded as a public calamity, and even those statesmen who had 
been most opposed to him spoke in praise of the qualities which 
he had shown himself possessed of. The old Duke of "Welling- 
ton spoke of him with tears running down his cheeks, which he 
did not attempt to hide. In the Commons, which had been the 
immediate scene of so many of his triumphs, the respect shown 
was equally great. Praises, not extravagant, but well-deserved, 
were showered upon the dead statesman ; and his most illustrious 
follower only voiced the general opinion of the man when he 
pronounced that funeral oration which is justly conceded to be 
not unworthy of the name of Gladstone. 

The Ecclesiastical Titles Bill came up for consideration in the 
latter part of the year 1850, and the debates upon it ran over in- 
to the next year. This bill, which Roebuck characterized as 



118 



Gladstone vs. Jbisraeli. 



"one of the meanest, pettiest, and most /utile measures which 
ever disgraced bigotry itself/' and which sturdy John Bright de- 
clared was " little, paltry and miserable, a mere sham to bolster 
Church ascendency," was introduced by Lord John Eussell him- 
self, and proposed to forbid, under certain penalties, the assump- 
tion by Eoman Catholic ecclesiastics of any title taken from the 
name of any territory or place in the United Kingdom. Disraeli, 
who did not oppose it, spoke in terms of contempt of it, as a 
mere piece of petty persecution ; and this seems to have heen 

the attitude of many 
who voted for the in- 
troduction of the bill. 
"When the division 
was taken on the ques- 
tion as to whether it 
should be considered, 
there were three hun- 
dred and ninety-five 
ayes to only sixty- 
three noes; but among 
those who made up 
this small number, be- 
sides the Catholic 
members, were such 
men as Mr. Gladstone, 
Sir James Graham, 
Mr. Cobden, Mr. 
Bright, and others of 
nearly equal note. 

In the debates en- 
suing, the Opposition 
John Bright in His Youth. was materially weak- 

ened by the character of some of the men who came to their 
assistance, men who, dubbed " The Pope's Brass Band," were 
equally distrusted by the more intelligent Catholics and the 
more bigoted Tories; while to the former the bill appeared only 
in the light of an insult. 

But the Government lost ground steadily. During the time at 
which the bill was in debate, another question was brought up, on 
which the Ministry obtained a majority of only fourteen ; a bill 
brought in by a member of the Opposition left the Government 



M^W^ '.m 






wmM; 


if 




pE? "^ir wSi 


1 




Vl*^* ' ' Bv«) 






Iff ^ 




'" 



Gladstone vs. Disraeli. 119 

in a minority of forty-eight, though the attendance was so small 
when the division was called for as to prove it a " snap vote." 
The budget had been received with much dissatisfaction, which 
was daily increasing. Under such circumstances, Lord John 
Eussell concluded that there was nothing for him to do but to 
resign ; and resign he did, leaving the Ecclesiastical Titles Bill 
still pending. 

A year before, the question as to who was to be his successor 
would probably have been answered at once; but Peel was dead, 
and his mantle did not seem to have fallen upon any one of his 
followers. True, there was a considerable party known as the 
" Peelites," who wore distinct from the Tories, to which organ- 
ization most of them once belonged, and had not yet assimila- 
ted with the Liberals, to which most of them were tending. The 
death of Sir Eobert Peel had increased the political independ- 
ence of his followers, for he was so closely connected with the tra- 
ditions of the Conservatives, if not of the Tories, that he was 
claimed as a member of that party ; and his personal adherents 
were not likely to leave him. But with his death, the principles 
which had seemed but occasional differences with those held by 
the body of the party, grew into the essential ones of their polit- 
ical faith ; and the Peelites became quite distinct from the Con- 
servatives. 

There were then three great parties, the Liberals, the Conser- 
vatives, and the Peelites; and any ministry must be formed of 
members of two of these, for no Government could stand against 
two united in opposition. But the Whigs insisted upon the Ec- 
clesiastical Titles Bill, and the Tories upon Protection, and the 
Peelites would not join either party while these principles were 
supported. On the other hand, the party which thus held the 
balance of power would not try the extent of it, though the post 
of First Lord of the Treasury was offered to Lord Aberdeen, the 
chief of the party in the House of Lords; for some action 
must be taken on the bill still pending, and a Peelite Govern- 
ment would be defeated at once. Such being the case, Lord John 
Eussell resumed office, and the bill which had excited such op- 
position was passed. Before its passage, however, the efforts of 
its enemies had shorn success of its value, by making such 
amendments as made the bill practically worthless for the pur- 
pose which it was originally intended to serve. It was never en- 
forced, even in this modified form. 



120 Gladstone vs. Disraeli. 

It is immediately after this debate that we learn of another 
trip to the continent on the part of Mr. Gladstone. This was not 
the first, of course, since that from which he had been recalled 
to stand for Newark ; but its results were so important that it 
deserves mention. Purely domestic circumstances, he himself 
tells us, occasioned his residence at Naples for some months about 
this time; but though he had not gone on any errand of political 
criticism or censorship, he could not but be interested in the 
state of affairs in that country. 

The accession of Ferdinand II., had been hailed as the begin- 
ning of a new era for the wretched kingdom of the Two Sicilies; 
and' the new reign began with many acts of royal clemency to- 
ward political offenders. But the liberal measures of the king 
were regarded as dangerous by his royal relatives in Austria 
and other countries, and he was forced, perhaps not unwillingly, 
to abandon them. The result was insurrection throughout the 
country, which, after the French Eevolution of 1848, terminated 
in the king's granting a constitution to his people. "When the 
reaction came in Italy, he set aside the constitution thus grant- 
ed, and proceeded to wreak his vengeance upon all who had 
taken part in the effort for reform. At the time of Mr. Glad- 
stone's temporary residence there, more than one-half of the 
legislative body were in confinement as political prisoners; or 
exiled; and other subjects to the number of twenty thousand 
were deprived of their liberty. This number seems incredibly 
large, but some estimates placed the figures half as high again, 
while the refusal of the Neapolitan Government to make any 
statement whatever rendered it impossible to get at exact fig- 
gures. Hundreds were indicted for capital offences. These po- 
litical prisoners were confined in the same apartments with the 
vilest criminals, and, like them, were loaded with chains. Suffer- 
ing from diseases contracted by their confinement in the loath- 
some dungeons and the insufficient food with which they were 
furnished, they were obliged to crawl painfully up long flights 
of steps for the medical assistance which the Government vouch- 
safed to give them; because the apartments which they occupied 
were such that no physician would enter, out of regard for his 
own health. In such circumstances, it is not plain why any 
physicians should be allowed to relieve them, if such a feat were 
possible to medicine. Nor was this all. Though it was the be- 
ginning of the latter half of the nineteenth century, some of 



Gladstone vs. Disraeli. 121 

these offenders against the divine right of kings were subjected 
to tortures which would have done credit to the Middle Ages. 

Mr. Gladstone's action was characteristic. First making such 
close and accurate observations as the jealousy of the Govern- 
ment would permit, and thoroughly informing himself of the 
extent of these outrages upon the liberty of the subject, he ad- 
dressed himself to the Earl of Aberdeen, who, as we have seen, 
was regarded as the chief of the Peelite party, of which Mr. 
Gladstone was so prominent a member. His reasons for taking 
action he carefully stated : as a member of the Conservative 
party (with which the Peelites were still nominally classed), he 
was concerned in the stability of all the established govern- 
ments of Europe, and the outrages perpetrated by the king would 
surely lead to Eepublicanism ; but, more than this, Ferdinand 
and his creatures had offended against the laws of humanity, 
and ail who loved the cause of humanity, of civilization, of 
religion, of decency, must unite to condemn him and his actions. 
The appeal was a stirring one; md when, shortly afterward, it 
was followed by another from the same pen, the writer's wishes 
were fully realized. 

Mr. Gladstone was careful to maKe his accusations against the 
Neapolitan tyrant purely personal, and to avoid mixing up any 
official, diplomatical, or political British agencies in them ; and 
this course had precisely the effect which he had looked for. His 
remonstrances came in the name of common humanity j he was 
defending the right of all men to liberty which has never been 
forfeited by crime ; and he did so, not as the representative of any 
Government, but as a clear-sighted man, a warm-hearted, liberal- 
minded statesman. As such he was recognized, by the officers 
of the British Goverment; and the popular interest in the Nea- 
politan prisons was voiced in the proceedings which were taken 
by the Foreign Office. Mr. Gladstone's second letter did some- 
thing more than merely reiterate the statements contained in 
the first. They were broadened and deepened, until the case 
which he made out seemed altogether damning. No public trial 
had ever been accorded these unfortunates; and when a form 
had been gone through with, the accuser had been one of the 
judges, and had given the casting vote. "Whatever the mind can 
imagine as typical of tyranny in the treatment of political 
enemies, that, without exaggeration, seems from Mr. Gladstone's 
two letters, and the specific statements contained in them, to 




\%% 



Gladstone vs. Disraeli. 123 

have been the fate of those Neapolitans who had sought their 
rights in the days of Garibaldi. And these statements, it is need- 
less to add, were not the wild assertions which are sometimes 
rife; they were all based upon the best authority; in some cases, 
upon the results of his personal investigation ; in others, they 
were so notorious that there was no attempt made to deny them 
at an} 1, time. 

Attention was drawn in the House of Commons to the state- 
ments thus made and substantiated, and the question was direct- 
ly put, whether the British Minister at Naples could not be 
instructed to interfere, to secure the more humane treatment of 
the prisoners. But diplomacy does not admit of such a direct 
course. The matter was one which affected only the internal 
economy of an independent kingdom, and as such Great Britain 
had no cause to interfere. At the same time, the matter was one 
which men of feeling could not pass over; and though the Gov- 
ernment could not directly act in this matter, the Foreign Sec- 
retary said (and he was vociferously cheered when he said it), 
that he had sent copies of Mr. Gladstone's open letters to the 
English Ministers at all the courts of Europe, with instructions 
to call the attention of the Powers to the state of affairs there 
graphically described. 

Of course the Neapolitan Government was far from being as 
well pleased with this action of Palmerston's as the House of 
Commons had been ; and determined to vindicate itself. There 
had been some answers to Gladstone's letters published, but it is 
noticeable that these content themselves with assertions which 
are foreign to the subject, or praises of the virtues of Ferdinand, 
who is gravely said to have been a very religious man. They 
do not seem to have thought that Gladstone, the upholder of the 
union of Church and State, believed in mixing religion and 
politics so far that the latter was not entirely destitute of traces 
of the influence of the former. 

This was the first reply which the accuser thought worthy of 
an answer; and this merely because it was an official utterance, 
not because the arguments there brought forward were such as 
to overthrow his own. Nine-tenths of the accusations were 
tacitly admitted ; and the authorities which the Neapolitan Gov- 
ernment invoked to disprove the others were poor and meager, 
compared with the wealth of testimony which Mr. Gladstone had 
adduced. He admitted what they claimed, that in five instances 



J 24 Gladstone vs. Disraeli. 

he had been mistaken ; hut he reiterated the charges which they 
had not denied, and added proof to proof to convince the world 
at large that more than twenty thousand men were suffering 
from the tyranny of Ferdinand. The blunders of his critics were 
mercilessly exposed. Their greatest blunder, according to the 
author of an anonymous pamphlet on the subject, which appeared 
in 1852, was in answering at all. 

But no direct action was taken by the European Governments, 
and Ferdinand cared nothing for mere opinions. Only the re- 
membrance of these outrages was stored up in the hearts of men, 
and made them the more ready to look upon Garibaldi as the 
hand and brain which, in liberating Italy from the dominion of 
her petty tyrants, should do much for the cause of liberty 
throughout the world. Not until the last of December, 1858, 
does the Neapolitan Government seem to have taken any action 
to ameliorate the condition of their prisoners; ninety-one poli- 
tical offenders then had their punishment commuted to perpetual 
banishment; but it is a sufficient commentary upon the treat- 
ment which they had received, that fourteen of these had died 
in their dungeons, while others were too ill to be moved. 

We have followed the course of events in the English Parlia- 
ment during the greater part of this year, the visit to Naples 
having preceded the passage of the Ecclesiastical Titles Bill. 
To the story, thus told without interruption from the recounting 
of events with which it had little connection, we have but to add 
some statements regarding a change in the Ministry. Lord Pal- 
merston, so long connected with the Foreign Office, left it in 
December, 1851. His retirement was not a voluntary one, as he 
had given great offence by frequently acting without consulting 
his superiors in office, or laying his plans of action before the 
Queen. More than this, he had, both in public dispatches and 
private conversation, expressed a most decided opinion in re- 
gard to the Prince-President of France, Louis Napoleon; indis- 
tinct violation of the wishes of the Queen and of the Cabinet. 

Lord John Russell resigned the premiership in February, 1852, 
and Lord Derby, who had but recently succeeded to that title, 
and was better known as Lord Stanley, was appointed in his 
place. Disraeli had happily christened this nobleman the "Ru- 
pert of Debate," in allusion to his ability and his blunders; as 
Prince Rupert frequently lost the battles which his headlong 
courage had almost won, by the mistakes which he made in the 



Gladstone vs. Disraeli. 125 

use of his advantages. It is significant of the state of English 
politics at this time, that Mr. Gladstone, who afterward virtually 
drove this Ministry from power, could have had a place in it 
if he would have accepted it. 

The new Ministry was not a strong one. Palmerston said that 
it " contained two men and a number of ciphers." The two men 
were Derby and Disraeli; the others had neither ability or ex- 
perience to recommend them. The old Duke of Wellington, 
who was at this time more than eighty, was very much interest- 
ed in this Ministry, and anxious to know its 'personnel. Being 
very deaf, his conversation with Lord Derby was heard over 
the House of Lords. The Duke would inquire as to the appointee 
to some particular office; the Earl would reply, "Who? Who?" 
The Duke would ask again, not hearing the unfamiliar names 
with the same readiness as if they had been well-known to him ; 
and the same performance would be repeated with the next name. 
The story was told by those who heard the conversation, and 
the new Government was irreverently dubbed the "Who ? Who ? 
Ministry." 

Mr. Disraeli was the Chancellor of the Exchequer and at the 
same time the leader of the House of Commons. But it has been 
aptly said that his party was more afraid of his genius than of 
the dullness of his colleagues. He was placed in a situation of 
peculiar difficulty. The Conservatives claimed to have a con- 
siderable majority in the House of Commons; they would per- 
haps have a larger one in the next Parliament; but the Liberal 
Ministry was continued in power solely for the reason that no 
one was ready to take the reins of office out of their hands. 
The disadvantage of being in a Ministry which cannot com- 
mand a majority, was shared with all his colleagues ; but Mr. 
Disraeli was undertaking a task for which he had been thought 
to display no aptitude whatever. He had never before held of- 
fice; he was not credited with any capacity for the mastery of 
figures ; and the cleverness of the speech with which he entered 
upon the duties of his office was .a surprise to all who heard him. 

The position of the Ministry upon the important subject of 
Protection was a strange one, and one which was only too likety 
to involve it in difficulties. Lord Derby had indiscreetly de- 
clared that he did not regard the question as definitely settled, 
although it was now six years since the repeal of the Corn Laws, 
and the prosperity of the country had been increasing ever since 




m 



Gladstone vs. Disraeli. 127 

the effect of the repeal had been felt. But Mr. Disraeli was by 
no means of the same opinion. He saw, only too clearly, that 
the position was an untenable one; and with a coolness which at 
least bordered upon enrontary, told the House of Commons that 
he had never attempted to reverse the principle of Free Trade. 
This, however, was not until the session which began in Novem- 
ber, 1852, when the considerable losses with which the Ministry 
had met in the elections may have taught the right honorable 
gentleman what were the effects of re-opening the question which 
had so long been considered settled. 

The session had opened with eulogies upon the Duke of Wel- 
lington, who had died in the previous September. Prominent 
among these speakers on the hero of a war so long past, we 
find Mr. Gladstone, who appears by this time to be so far recog- 
nized as the leading speaker in the House that he was expected to 
speak on all such occasions. The peculiar dignity to which 
"the Duke/' as he was always called in these last years of his life, 
as if there were no other of that rank in the country, had attain- 
ed, was well described by Mr. Gladstone: 

"It may never be given to another subject of the British 
Crown to perform services so brilliant as he performed; it may 
never be given to another man to hold the sword which was to 
gain the independence of Europe, to rally the nations around it, 
and while England saved herself by her constancy, to save Eu- 
rope by her example; it may never be given to another man, 
after having attained such eminence, after such an unexampled 
series of victories, to show equal moderation in peace as he had 
shown greatness in war, and to devote the remainder of his life 
to the cause of internal and external peace for the country which 
he has so served ; it may never be given to another man to have 
equal authority both with the Sovereign he served, and with the 
senate of which he was to the end a venerated member; it may 
never be given to another man, after such a career, to preserve 
even to the last the full possession of those great faculties with 
which he was endowed, and to carry on the services of one of 
the most important departments of the State with unexampled 
regularity and success, even to the latest day of his life." 

The House was at once involved in discussions on the question 
of Free Trade ; a resolution was proposed, affirming that the im- 
proved condition of the people was mainly due to the repeal of 
the duties in 1846; and although this was negatived, an amend- 



•J28 Gladstone vs. Disraeli. 

ment affirming that the principle of unrestricted competition, to- 
gether with the abolition of protecting taxes, had diminished the 
cost and increased the supply of the chief articles of food, and 
so brought about the improved state of the country, was adopt- 
ed by the tremendous majority of four hundred and fifteen, in 
a House of little over five hundred members. It was during this 
debate that Mr. Disraeli made the astonishing statements to 
which reference has already been made ; and he even went to the 
length of assaulting the memory of Sir Robert Peel. This was 
more than the followers of that statesman could stand, and more 
than one of his adherents was ready with a vindication of his 
life and course in political matters. 

Early in December Mr. Disraeli brought forward his first 
budget. His speech extended over more than five hours. His 
first budget had of course been a mere makeshift, for he had not 
had time to prepare one which would be a real test of his pow- 
ers in that direction. This was made ready under the most fa- 
vorable circumstances, as to the time, that any one could expect ; 
and the House was ready to see what kind of a plan this remark- 
able man would present to it. But the other conditions were not 
so favorable. He had to please the interest which he had really 
represented for so long, the country gentry and farmers, and 
how he was to do this, without still further alienating the Peel- 
ites and Free Traders, was more than any one could well see. 

The budget proposed to remit a part of the taxes on malt, tea, 
and sugar; to extend the income tax to funded property and 
salaries in Ireland, to make up the deficit caused by the remis- 
sion; and to make some changes in this tax in other respects; 
the house tax was also to be extended and increased. 

The speech which proposed these changes excited great op- 
position, which was voiced by Mr. Gladstone in one of the fierc- 
est invectives which ever fell from his lips. His answer was 
by some regarded as too bitter and pungent; but it must be re- 
membered that he was smarting under the thought that this was 
the man who had so lately assailed the beloved chief under whom 
he had served; and the personal popularity of Peel seems to 
have been great during his life, and to have lasted long after his 
death. Mr. Disraeli, in reply, made one of those personal at- 
tacks for which he had already become famous, upon Sir James 
Gi'aham, who was looked upon as the leader of the Peelites in 
the House of Commons, and whose support was so valuable. 



Gladstone vs. Disraeli. 129 

that it was commonly said that a speech from him was worth 
fifty votes to any measure. He then turned upon Sir Charles 
Wood, the late Chancellor of the Exchequer, and leaning across 
the table and directing his words full at him, said : "I care not 
to be the right honorable gentleman's critic; but if he has learn- 
ed his business, he has yet to learn that petulance is not sar- 
casm, and that insolence is not invective." It was two o'clock 
in the morning, but the members had no thought of sleep ; the 
contest was too exciting for that; Mr. Disraeli had hardly ut- 
tered the last sentence of his speech when Mr. Gladstone leaped 
upon his feet to answer him. This debate upon the budget was 
the first time that they had come into such bitter collision ; and 
this second speech of Mr. Gladstone was burning with more 
than the energy of the first. The House had been listening to 
Disraeli with an interest rarely felt in the speeches of the Chan- 
cellor of the Exchequer; and when Gladstone arose it was 
thought that after such a speech even he could make but little 
impression. But they who judged so were in the wrong. A yet 
greater effect was produced by the reply of Mr. Gladstone, all 
unpremeditated as it was ; and when the division was taken two 
hours later, the Government was left in a minority of nineteen. 

The Chancellor of the Exchequer left the building with a 
friend ; as they looked out upon the streets, dim and grey with 
the lights of the night which had not yet ended, and shining with 
the rain which was falling steadily and drearily, he remarked, 
coolly, as he buttoned up his coat: "It will be an unpleasant 
day for going to Osborne." Such was his only expression re- 
garding the resignation which had been forced so early in his 
official career. 

There was no other course for the Ministry, thus defeated up- 
on their most important measure, to pursue ; and that day the 
resignation of the various members was duly placed in Her 
Majesty's hands. A few days afterward, the Coalition Ministry 
was formed. The Earl of Aberdeen was Prime Minister, Lord 
John Russell Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Lord Pal- 
merston was at the Home Office, and Mr. Gladstone was Chan- 
cellor of the Exchequer. Having made such a brilliant on- 
slaught upon the late budget, and such a crushing expose of its 
blunders, he had now an opportunity of tr} T ing his own powers 
at the task in which his rival had failed so disastrously. 

Thus the chapter begins and ends with a conflict with Disraeli; 

9 



130 Q-ladstone vs. Disraeli. 

a conflict which, as McCarthy observes, ended only when Dis- 
raeli crossed the threshold of the House of Commons for the 
last time, to take his place in the House of Lords as the Earl of 
Beaconsfield. Perhaps the real antagonism of the men, who 
represented such essentially different ideas, lasted longer than 
this; until the Earl of Beaconsfield, the first and last to bear 
the title, was carried out from his home of Hughenden, its mas- 
ter no longer, to rest beside that remarkable wife who was the 
chief helpei in his many stru'ggles. The life duel was carried 
on both in and out of the House of Commons, but it is of the 
former to which history will have most reference. The very 
formation of the hall in which the House met emphasized the 
antagonism. Although the scene of some of the most brilliant 
debates of modern times and the cradle of British oratory, the 
House is more like a committee-room, in point of size, than a 
legislative assembly. Eor years there have been over 600 mem- 
bers and an attendance of 500 is quite common. But there is 
only sitting accommodation for about 360, or at most 400, on 
the floor of the House. There are neither tables nor desks for 
the convenience of members, who are ranged on cushioned 
benches with a minimum of space both as regards width and 
leg room. Members wear their hats during the transaction of 
business, being expected to uncover only when rising to address 
the House or during the reading of a royal message. The bench- 
es run up and down the Hall, with a space in the centre, and 
thus ministerialists and members in opposition sit face to face on 
either side of the aisle in front of the Speaker. The front row 
on the Government side of the House is assigned to Cabinet 
Ministers and others holding office. Disraeli, when Premier, 
occupied the seat nearest the Speaker, but Gladstone always 
favored a position a little farther down. The correspond!: g 
bench on the Opposition side is occupied by the leader of the 
Opposition and by ex-ministers. 

Thus the leading party men sit very close to each other, but 
are separated by the historical table, on which stands the sym- 
bolic mace, the official documents and papers of the House, the 
oath box and the Ministers' despatch boxes. If this table could 
but speak and recount its wrongs, it would tell of scores, nay 
thousands of vicious and violent blows. Gladstone has empha- 
sized some of his brilliant efforts by means of blows with clench- 
ed fists, such as could only be dealt by a man who is an athlete 



Gladstone vs. Disraeli. 



131 




as well as a statesman; Disraeli has 
also pounded it pretty badly. Once 
the latter became so enraged in 
the course of a word conflict with 
Gladstone, that he shouted out with 
greatvehemcnce,thathe was thank- 
ful the table divided them. 

The mace is the most important 
piece of furniture in this severely 
simple looking hall. Its antiquity 
is very great; it is borne before 
the Speaker when he enters the 
House and when he leaves it; it is 
supposed by some to symbolizethe 
authority of the Crown, and its 
presence on the table also indi- 
cates that the House is in session. 
When Cromwell forcibly dissolved a 
disobedient House, he did so by coarse- 
ly ordering his attendants to "take 
away this bauble," and the solemn and 
imposing emblem was for once dishon- 
ored. It is in the conventionalized form 
of a head wearing a crown, thus, per- 
haps, signifying a supposed presence 
of the Sovereign. There are several 
maces, but the one in our illustration 
is most commonly used, and probably 
the most ancient. From the initials 
"C. K.," repeatedly stamped upon it, 
it is presumed to dale from the reign 
of either Charles I. or Charles II. The 
quality of the metal work is not of 
the finest known in the history of the 
goldsmith's art in England, being rath- 
er inferior to the best examples. It is, 
however, an interesting piece of plate, 
and, like every antique article in the 
House, is preserved with the usual 
British reverence for age and prece- 
dent. 




CHAPTER V. 

THE MINISTRY OF ALL THE TALENTS. 

Mr. Gladstone's Early Political Faith— His Act of Self-denial— First Step 
Toward Leaving the Conservative Party — House of Commons and the 
New Chancellor of the Exchequer— Grows Eloquent Over a Dry Subject — 
Debate on the Income Tax -Impending War — Will of the People Must 
be Obeyed — Measures for Eaising Kevenue— Bitter Taunts from Disraeli — 
Views of the Prince Consort— Miss Florence Nightingale -The Crimean 
War — Impressive Scene in the House of Commons -New Ministry by 
Lord Palmerston — Lord John Eussell — Great Speech bv Mr. Gladstone — 

Continuance of the War Debates. 

4 

HEN" Mr. Gladstone entered Parliament in 1832, he was 
an ardent supporter of all those measures with which 
the ultra Tories were then associated ; he would have 
condemned Reform, perhaps, had he been in the previous Par- 
liament ; as it was, he sat for what was really a pocket-borough, 
and one which was not likely to be given up by its virtual own- 
er, since he was one of the most stubborn anti-Reformers in all 
England. He was then an advocate of Protection j he upheld 
the union of Church and State, and boldly proclaimed his opin- 
ion that the State had (or ought to have) a conscience ; he was 
ready to fight to the death all contemners of the Established 
Church of Ireland. With the latter feeling, and the changes 
which it underwent, we shall have more to do hereafter; the 
subject of the disestablishment of the Irish Church is one of such 
importance, both in itself, and, what is of more moment to us, 
as one of the main points of Mr. Gladstone's eareer, that we 
shall consider that apart from all other measures in the success 
or defeat of which this most liberal minded of English states- 
men has had a hand. 

In his " Chapter of Autobiography," which is in the main a 
defence of his change of opinion regarding the Irish Church, he 
alludes to the three great measures which Sir Robert Peel at 
first vehemently opposed, but afterward was among the first to 
carry out — Catholic Emancipation, Parliamentary Reform, and 
Free Trade. Such changes, the writer argues, are due to a lack 

132 




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The Ministry of All the Talents. 133 

of foresight; not that the statesmen who have thus altered their 
opinions possessed less of this desirable quality than their pre- 
decessors who have been more consistent; but the enlargement 
of the governing class, the gradual transfer of political powei 
from groups and limited classes to the community, has render- 
ed a much larger range necessary — a range greater than is pos- 
sible to mere men. His further argument is even stronger than 
this; admitting that such foresight were possessed by a states- 
man — 

" The public mind is, to a great degree, unconscious of its own 
progression ; and it would resent and repudiate, if offered to its 
mature judgment, the very policy which after a while it will 
gravely consider, and after another while enthusiastically em- 
brace." 

This paragraph is the real defense which Gladstone makes, 
and it is the best that can be made, against those who upbraid 
him for his change of principle. It should be noted that they 
who do so are members of the paiiy which he left, which has 
felt his loss severely. He expressly disclaims all desire of de- 
fending those who have made sudden modifications of the prin- 
ciples which they have previously upheld, for too obvious rea- 
sons; but his own political belief, though it may be radically 
different from what it was when he entered public life, has 
changed so gradually that it is plain to see the alterations are 
the results of conviction. 

As a proof of this, it is unnecessary to refer to more than one 
instance, in that part of his career which has already been con- 
sidered : his resignation from Sir Robert Peel's ministry in 1845. 
Commented on at the time as one of those rare instances in 
which a public man really injures himself by an act of self-de- 
nial, it yet had its advantage as showing how entirely earnest he 
was in any change which his convictions might undergo. It 
proved his sincerity then, and for all time to come. There is one 
view of the case, however, which must not be overlooked: it 
has been said that Mr. Gladstone is so skilled at argument, so 
well able to convince the doubtful of the truth of the point 
which he supports, that he is often led to believe that his own 
original position is untenable, simply by the force of the reasoning 
which he brings to bear upon the weak points which all posi- 
tions must have. " He can convince himself of anything which 
he wishes to believe," is the not too flattering verdict of one of 



1B4 The Ministry of All the Talents. 

his self constituted judges ; it is a defect which is perhaps an es- 
sential element of a subtle reasoner's mental constitution; but 
this judgment, though it has a show of profundity, leaves the 
question in exactly the same state as before ; the Liberals of the 
present day will still hold that he has always wished to believe 
in those principles which are, according to them, at the basis 
of all good government ; while the Tories will express the op- 
posite opinion. 

A more scathing criticism would be, that he has always man- 
aged to persuade himself that the measure which would serve 
him best was that which it was his duty to support, as the one 
which would be the best for the country ; but since the day when 
the London News recorded the first step which he took in a direc- 
tion opposite to that in which he had been walking, and con- 
demned the sacrifice as one which was far removed from wisdom, 
no one has made this assertion. 

In 1852 was taken the first decisive action toward leaving the 
Conservative party. Hitherto his convictions might have changed 
from time to time, but so had those of many of the Tory leaders; 
in one case, at any rate, he had but followed Peel and the great 
majority of his adherents; he had in all crises considered him- 
self bound to support the policy advocated by the Conservative 
chief; but now there was coming a period of uncertainty, as 
much in his own mind as in the minds of those about him ; per- 
haps, indeed, his own doubts were sooner aroused, and more 
sharply defined, than those of others; certainly he was offered 
p. position in a Conservative cabinet long after the beginning of 
the period that we usually consider him a member of the oppos- 
ing party. 

His joining the Coalition Ministry of 1852 had no significance, 
however, in this connection ; for the chief of that Government 
was Lord Aberdeen, the leader of the Peelites ; the Conserva- 
tive members of that Cabinet certainly yielded no more than the 
Liberals did, and Palmerston and Russell were thoroughly identi- 
fied with that party, and continued to be so after the fall of 
Aberdeen's administration. It was simply a temporary alliance 
made necessary by the state of the great parties at that date. 

The newly appointed ministers had to seek re-election, and in 
this special contest Mr. Gladstone discovered, what he could not 
fail to have foreseen, that his tendencies to Liberalism were not 
approved by the electors of the University of Oxford. His 



The Ministry of All the Talents. 135 

seat was hotly contested, though the only opponent that could 
be found for him was a gentleman who was merely the son of 
his father. The father was Perceval, that Prime Minister who 
in 1812 had been assassinated in the lobby of the House of Com- 
mons; the son was so little known, that the Times, which was 
then a better friend to Mr. Gladstone and his allies than in 
1887-8, sarcastically described him " as a very near relative of 
our old friend Mrs. Harris," and called upon his supporters to 
prove his actual existence. But Mr. Gladstone's course, in regard 
to the divisions upon ecclesiastical subjects, had been very offen- 
sive to many of the Oxonians; and his majority, even over this 
unknown and untried man, could hardly he called a manifestation 
of great popularity. Perhaps a more eloquent testimony to the 
esteem in which he was then held by the thinkers is the fact that 
of the one hundred and one professors whose votes were record- 
ed, and of whom twelve were neutral, no less than seventy-four 
voted for Mr. Gladstone. 

Mr. Gladstone's first feat in connection with the important of- 
fice which he now held was the maturing of a plan for the re- 
duction of the National Debt. Supported hy the prominent Ead- 
ical members of the House, as well as by those who ordinarily 
adhered to the Government, this plan was adopted and put into 
immediate operation. Before the outbreak of the war which be- 
gan a year later, the debt had been reduced more than eleven 
millions of pounds. 

Ten days later, the House of Commons sat spell-bound, listen- 
ing to the schemes of the Chancellor of the Exchequer for deal- 
ing with the finances of the country. The expression sounds like 
that bitterest of all sarcasm, which condemns by extravagant 
praise ; but it is the universal testimony that it was the bare truth. 
Never has there been any other Chancellor of the Exchequer 
who could thus entrance the House with his arrays of figures; 
but the depths of philosophy from which Mr. Gladstone builtup 
the foundations of his policy have rarely been fathomed by oth- 
ers, who have generally been content with a much more super- 
ficial structure. Although he spoke for five hours upon this oc- 
casion, the House followed him throughout with unabated inter- 
est. During the whole time, his command of words never once 
failed him ; and each abtsruse financial detail was clothed with 
the language which best fitted it for presentation in the most 
favorable guise to the minds of his listeners, 




Lobby of the House of Commons. The Speaker Entering the Hall, 

with the Mace Borne Before Him. 
136 



The Ministry of All the Talents. 137 

The most important point which was touched upon in this budg- 
et and the speech in which it was presented to the House, was the 
Income Tax. This duty, which had been proposed for the first 
time in the days of Pitt, to enable the Government to meet the 
expenses arising out of the Napoleonic wars, had come to be re- 
garded as a necessity by the financiers, though there was much 
dissatisfaction with it outside of the small circle of those who 
were charged with the settlement of the national expenses. It 
was certain that its abolition would lead to increased prosperity, 
if only the period between the present and that future when the 
effects of its abolition should be clearly felt could be bridged; 
and Mr. Gladstone showed that this was not impossible. The 
tax was not to be done away with at once, but being continued 
for a period of two years, and after that gradually lessened, it 
would have disappeared by the beginning of 1860. In- that year, 
the Chancellor argued, Parliament would find it possible to 
dispense with the Income Tax altogether. The trouble had here- 
tofore been, not that there was no attempt made to deal with 
this duty; but that all the action which had been taken in con- 
nection with it had been such as to unsettle the public mind 
with reference to it; whatever was done now, he told them, must 
be bold and decisive. 

An amendment affirming that the continuance of the Income 
Tax was unjust and impolitic was brought forward by Sir E. 
Bulwer-Lytton, and warmly supported by Mr. Disraeli, who 
seized the opportunity of making a personal attack upon Lord 
John Eussell for having joined the Coalition Ministry, and thus 
deserting the Whig party, as the speaker claimed, for an alliance 
with the former followers of Peel. In that portion of his speech 
which related directly to the matter under consideration, the ex- 
Chancellor said that the proposals of his successor added to the 
burdens on land, while they lightened those which pressed upon 
particular classes ; and with that happy faculty for using striking 
phrases which had always distinguished him, he added that he 
could see no difference, so far as the danger of a system of privi- 
leged classes was concerned, between a privileged noble and a 
privileged tobacconist. Mr. Cobden and Mr. Hume supported the 
amendment, while Mr. Caldwell and Mr. Lowe took part in this 
animated debate on the side of the Government. JSTor was Eus- 
sell silent; but in well chosen words showed the various incon- 
sistencies of which Mr, Disraeli had been guilty, in his former 



138 The Ministry of All the Talents. 

schemes and present attitude toward the Income Tax ; and closed 
with a panegyric upon the author of the present plan, saying that 
he was to be envied among English Finance Ministers. This is 
the second time that we find this ardent Whig speaking in warm 
praise of Mr. Gladstone, before the tribunal to which they both 
looked for approval of their political course. 

The ministerial scheme for the continuance and partial exten- 
sion of the Income Tax, to be followed by its gradual diminution 
and final abolition, was adopted by a considerable majority. 
That the prophecies of Mr. Gladstone regarding the condition 
in which the country would be in 1860 were not fulfilled, was 
due to no lack of foresight; the cause of the increased expendi- 
ture was one which, depending as it did upon the action of other 
Governments, could not be foretold by human agency. The cloud 
which presaged the storm of the next year was not visible in 
1852 to the naked eye. 

It was at the beginning of 1853 that it first became certain that a 
European war was the only means of deciding between the 
claims of the Czar and the unwillingness of the Sultan to grant 
those claims. The trouble grew out of the desire of Russia to 
protect the interests of the Greek Church in the Holy Land ; but 
the original cause of the trouble was soon lost sight of. Various 
reasons were assigned for the part which England took in this 
conflict; it was said by some that she was anxious to protect Tur- 
key, solely to secure the safety of her Indian dominions ; it was 
said by others that seeing a contest between a strong and a weak 
country, she was prompted by chivalry and generosity to inter- 
fere in behalf of the weaker. Such were the extreme views of the 
reason for war; as in all cases of the kind, neither one is alto- 
gether true, or wholly false ; but the real reason lies midway be- 
tween, and partakes of both. 

It was not until the middle of the year that actual hostilities 
began. It was still hoped, as late as October, that war might be 
averted, though the Czar's troops had taken possession of Mol- 
davia and Wallachia three months before. At the beginning of 
October, however, the Sultan formally declared war. The popu- 
lar voice in England was altogether against the Czar, who was 
looked upon as menacing the liberties of Europe by his efforts 
to overide Turkey. The Ministry could not long delay decisive 
action upon the question of whether active support should be 
given to the Ottomans, 



The Ministry of All the Talents. 13§ 

The question had doubtless been fully discussed at those mys- 
terious meetings in Downing Street of which no minutes are ever 
kept; but there seems to have been no immediate announcement 
of policy until after the 12th of that month. At that date, Mr. 
Gladstone went to Manchester, to attend the unvailing of a 
statue to Sir Robert Peel. The country was in a state of great ex- 
citement, and meetings and conferences for and against the war 
were being held everywhere. Under such circumstances, the 
utterances of this eloquent member of the Administration were 
looked for with the keenest expectation. 

His speech was unequivocal as to the views of the Government. 
Russia threatened to override all the other Powers, and prove a 
source of danger to the rest of the world ; and the overthrow of 
the Ottoman Empire must be a blow to England, as well as to 
other countries. But the Government desired peace, if possible; 
he reminded them that the intrigue, delay and chicanery which 
too often attend negotiations are far less to be dreaded than war; 
and rebuked the inconsiderate impatience of those who looked 
only at the meretricious glory which a war might bring. To save 
the country from a calamity which would deprive the nation of 
subsistence and arrest the operations of industry, he said, the 
Ministry "have persevered in exercising that self-command and 
self-restraint, which impatience may mistake for indifference, fee- 
bleness, or cowardice, but which are truly the crowning greatness 
of a great people, and do not evince the want of readiness to 
vindicate, when the time comes, the honor of this country." He 
expressly stated that the Government was not engaged in main- 
taining the independence and integrity of the Ottoman Empire ; 
and referring to the anomalies of the Eastern Empire, and the 
probabilities of its future, disclaimed all wish on the part of the 
British Government to do more than protect the interests of all 
by curbing the ambition of one. This disclaimer, coming full 
twenty-five years before the date of the Bulgarian atrocities, 
shows conclusively that some of his critics who have ventured 
statements regarding his attitude on the Eastern question have 
been mistaken in the premises drawn from his actions in 1853. 

But the moderation of the Ministers was not met by a similar 
feeling on the part of the people. Their voice was still for war, 
and when, after many endeavors on the part of England and oth- 
er powers to negotiate a peace, the British Government declared 
war against Russia, the popular satisfaction was unbounded. 



140 The Ministry of Alt the Talents. 

Even after this decisive step had been taken, the Powers hesi- 
tated, and expressed their willingness to enter into an armistice 
at once, if the Czar showed any inclination to settle the matter 
peaceably. But Nicholas persisted in the course which he had 
marked out for himself, which nothing but death ended for him, 
and only defeat terminated for his successor and his people. 

A considerable party in England were bitterly opposed to the 
war, and a deputation from the Peace Society actually went to 
St. Petersburg to interview the Czar. As Mr. Molesworth puts 
it, Nicholas " had already decided on the course he would pur- 
sue, and neither imperial nor Quaker remonstrances could turn 
him from it." Prominent among the advocates of peace was John 
Bright, who was so sternly opposed to war that, even after it had 
begun, and the country was beginning to feel the distress occas- 
ioned by it, he would have nothing to do with the measures in- 
tended to alleviate that distress. Mr. Gladstone was as earnest- 
ly desirous as any one of avoiding the horrors which hostilities 
would bring upon the country, but when once it was seen to be 
inevitable, he bent all his energies to do the best that he could 
under the circumstances. Perhaps Bright's course was the more 
consistent, especially for one reared among the non-combatant 
Quakers; but a statesman who would be perfectly consistent 
would often find himself in the wrong, unless he possessed om- 
nipotence to mould the minds and direct the wills of men. 

Lord Aberdeen had expressed his intention of resigning if a 
war became inevitable ; but the whole trouble came on so gradu- 
ally that he found his Government involved in the contest before 
there had been anything which should give warrant for that step. 
Much as Mr. Gladstone desired to prevent war, if possible, even 
he was forced to see, with his chief, that the will of the people 
must be obeyed. It was not the Queen, it was not the Ministry, 
it was not the House of Lords or of Commons, that declared 
war against Russia in 1853 ; they were but the means by which 
the people of Great Britain made their protest against the over- 
whelming power of the Czar being further extended. 

War had been declared, and the Ministry had to make the best 
of it. The chief burden fell upon the Chanceller of the Ex- 
chequer, who saw the schemes so carefully prepared for the re- 
duction of taxation swept away at one breath. The surplus 
which was to have been a valuable aid in reducing the Income 
Tax must be diverted from that use, and applied to warlike pur- 



The Ministry of All the Talents. 



141 



poses ; the Income Tax, the Malt Tax, and the Spirit Duties, 
must all be increased, with no prospect of their reduction for 
years to'come. But with a courage rarely manifested by Finance 
Ministers in time of war, when the resources of the country are 
always crippled, and taxes are harder than ever to pay, he pro- 
posed to pay for the war out of the current revenue, provided 
that not more than ten millions sterling would be required, in 
addition to the usual expenditure. Taxes would of course be 
increased, but at the close of the war the country would be free 
to resume the course of prosperity which had been interrupted 




Bar of the House. 

by it, clear of debt, so often a long enduring bitter after-taste of 
the glory that may have been acquired. 

Mr. Disraeli opposed this plan, which the Prince-Consort char- 
acterized as "manly, statesmanlike, and honest." The Tory was 
opposed to the increase of taxes, but would rather advocate bor- 
rowing, by which means, he argued, the burden of the war 
would fall less heavily upon the people, the expense being paid 
at longer intervals. But his course, which ministers have too 
often pursued because it is the most likely to secure their pop- 
ularity, was not approved by the country at large. The people 



142 The Ministry of All the Talents. 

saw the wisdom of Gladstone's plan, and it was everywhere 
endorsed. What was of more immediate importance, as afford- 
ing him the opportunity of putting the plan into practice, the 
House of Commons approved it by a large majority. 

But before the division took place, there were some bitter 
taunts from Mr. Disraeli; and his language was such on one oc- 
casion that he was reminded that no criticism should be pro- 
nounced upon the ministerial policy unless he were prepared to 
propose a vote of no confidence. This he declined to do, but as- 
serted that, while he should not vote against the necessary ap- 
propriations, being bound to support Her Majesty in all just 
and necessary wars, he was not prepared to admit that this was a 
necessary war. Had the Cabinet been united, he claimed, it 
would not have been forced upon them ; but it was a Coalition 
Ministry, and that act detracted from its strength at such critical 
moments. To this speech Mr. Gladstone replied. The conclu- 
sion of Mr. Disraeli's argument he denounced as illogical and re- 
creant; and showed that the reasons which he gave for not pro- 
posing a vote of no confidence (the lack of unity of opinion re- 
garding the war, which he alleged was the case among the Min- 
isters), was the very reason why he should have taken that 
course. The remainder of his speech was a vindication of his 
policy, and an appeal to be sustained. 

Barlv in May we find him again urging the necessity of pay- 
ing the expenses of the war out of the current revenue, and de- 
nouncing that attempt to conciliate the people, which Mr. Dis- 
raeli had made by promising the abolition of taxes without hav- 
ing made any provision for fulfilling his word. He rehearsed 
the difficulties through which the Napoleonic wars had been car- 
ried on, and recalled to their minds how enormous were the du- 
ties which were imposed by Pitt, and how cheerfully the burden 
was borne ; he reminded them that even the war had not inter- 
rupted the prosperity of the country to any considerable ex- 
tent, as the constant increase of the imports showed; and ex- 
plained his plans with a minuteness which need not here be im- 
itated. The speech took the chiefs of the Opposition by sur- 
rpise, accustomed as they were to Mr. Gladstone's powers; and 
the division showed an unusually large majority for the Ministry. 

A few days later, Mr. Disraeli made yet another effort to 
arouse the feeling of the House against Mr. Gladstone's admin- 
istration of the finances. Inaccurate and deceptive statements, 



The Ministry of All the Talents. 143 

he said, had been made in successive budgets, fallacious estimates 
given of the cost of the war, and delusive announcements made 
regarding the aids that would be required to meet the growing 
charges upon the revenue. The Chancellor of the Exchequer 
was boldly accused of incompetence, not only in one instance 




Lord Aberdeen. 



but in many. Mr. Gladstone replied to each of these charges m 
turn, his speech followed closely by those who were in sym- 
pathy with him; and on the division the majority for the Min- 
istry caused the collapse of all efforts to oppose the budget. 



144 The Ministry of All the Talents. 

Mr. Disraeli had not yet given up his opposition to the gov- 
ernment, however, but toward the end of July again severely at- 
tacked the policy of the Ministry. Lord John Russell had moved 
a vote of credit of three million sterling for the expenses of the 
war, and this became, by the opposition of Mr. Disraeli, a vote 
of confidence. A great debate was confidently expected, butthe 
courage of the Opposition gave way as the time apjDroached, and 
they dared not imperil the existence of the Ministry at such a 
juncture. The amendment requesting Her Majesty not to pro- 
rogue Parliament until the matter was settled was negatived 
without a division and Parliament was prorogued Aug. 12th. 

There were some hopes of a peaceful settlement of the difficul- 
ty at the beginning of 1854 ; but though Austria and Prussia had 
promised their decided support, their defection when the time 
came for such action left matters as they were at first. The war 
had not yet begun in earnest, but by the middle of the year 
there was no longer any hope of peace. A combined army of 
English, French and Turks marched upon Sebastopol early in 
September, there to begin the siege so memorable in the history 
of the war. 

But though the war continued as popular as' ever, there were 
some symptoms that showed, at this very time, that the Ministry 
which had declared the war was beginning to lose its popularity. 
There were many reasons why such a Cabinet should lose its 
strength. In the first place, its very constitution forbade the 
hope of a long continuance in that harmony which is so neces- 
sary to a Government. In regard to this, there have been two 
statements made, which could scarcely be reconciled, were they 
both given without qualification; and it is difficult to decide 
which is the better authority. Mr. Martin, the author of the 
Life of the Prince Consort, a biography for which the Queen 
herself furnished many of the materials, and for the statements 
in which she is really responsible, the work having been pre- 
pared under her supervision, says positively that no cordial un- 
animity existed between the Peelite members of the cabinet and 
their colleagues; Mr. Gladstone denies that there was any dis- 
cord among the Ministers ; but, adds the right honorable gentle- 
man, in a clause which serves to reconcile this denial with the 
affirmation of the other, "rifts there were without doubt in the 
imposing structure, but they were due entirely to individual views 
or pretensions, and in no way to sectional antagonism." When 



The Ministry of All the Talents'. 145 

We consider that Palmerston was in this Ministry, we can see 
very clearly that these personal differences of opinion might be 
made a serious matter. 

Whatever was the true extent of these differences, the fact that 
there were such was speedily noised abroad, and perhaps much 
more made of the report than was warranted by the facts. At 
any rate, it was generally believed that there were serious dis- 
agreements among the Ministers, and this gave rise to a feeling 
of uncertainty in the House of Commons. The followers of the 
Government, says Mr. Martin, did not hesitate to attack the 
Prime Minister openly in the House; nor was he always sup- 
ported as warmly by his colleagues as the absent Premier ex- 
pects to be. 

The defeat of the ministry was delayed for some time by the 
necessity of action upon a secondary matter connected with the 
conduct of the war. This was the management of the hospitals, 
which were grossly neglected by those in charge of them. An 
ample supply of medical and other stores had been sent out from 
England, but they lay rotting in the holds of the vessels which 
had carried them out, or stored away in places where they were 
not wanted. The men were simply dying of exhaustion, while 
provisions had been despatched in abundance. Under such cir- 
cumstances, Miss Florence Nightingale, who had become well- 
known in London for her enlightened, skillful and self-denying 
benevolence, was induced to go out to take charge of the hospi- 
tals; an almost dictatorial authority, which could override all 
red-tapeism, being given her. Under her management, chaos was 
reduced to order, and the wounded and sick received the care 
of which they were so sorely in need. 

Parliament was called together shortly before Christmas, and 
after a session lasting eleven days, adjourned for a month. But 
in this short session it accomplished more business than had ever 
been dispatched within a similar period, in the memory of living 
man. The most important measure brought forward was per- 
haps that providing for the enlistment of foreign soldiers. This 
provoked a keen debate upon the war and the Ministry's con- 
duct of it. Mr. Bright maintained that the English were fight- 
ing in a hopeless cause and for a worthless ally ; Mr. Disraeli an- 
nounced that he should oppose the measure at every stage ; and 
painted the situation at the Crimea in the darkest colors. The 
course of the Ministry was defended by Lord John Eussell and 
10 



146 The Ministry of All the Talents. 

Lord Palmerston. Similar attacks were made in the House of 
Lords, and Lord Aberdeen had all he could do to answer them. 

When Parliament met at the beginning of 1855, Mr. Roebuck 
gave formal notice that he should move for the appointment of 
a select committee to inquire into the condition of the army be- 
fore Sebastopol, and into the conduct of those departments of the 
Government whose duty it was to minister to the wants of the 
army. This was a direct challenge to the Government. Lord 
John Russell, convinced that the Ministry could not stand before 
such an attack, tendered his resignation at once. This was look- 
ed upon as partaking something of the nature of cowardice; he 
should have braved out the storm with them, thought his collea- 
gues ; and one of them, the Duke of Newcastle, offered to make 
himself the scapegoat for the Ministry ; an offer which was not 
entirely without reason, as he was the Secretary of War. After 
much discussion, however, it was resolved that the remaining 
members of the cabinet should liold together as long as the House 
of Commons would permit. Mr. Roebuck's motion came up in 
due time, and the Minister of war, Mr. Herbert, attempted to 
stem the tide by the assertion that the existing evils had been 
greatly overrated, and that many improvements had already 
taken place. But the effect which this mild speech might possi- 
bly have had was totally lost when the reply to it was heard. 
This was a speech by Mr. Stafford, who told of the things that 
he had himself seen; and excepting from censure Miss Nightin- 
gale and her assistants, drew such a picture of suffering and 
neglect as could not be equalled by the imagination. 

To this speech Mr. Gladstone was the one to reply. If the Op- 
position had expected the resignation of Lord John Russell would 
be followed by that of his colleagues, this address gave them dis- 
tinctly to understand that they were mistaken. After giving 
some short history of the defection which had so recently taken 
place, not without courteous allusion to the encomium which Lord 
John had recently bestowed upon him, the speaker proceeded to 
characterize a Ministry which could resign under such circum- 
stances, or without a direct intimation from the House of Com- 
mons. If by thus resigning they shrank from a judgment of 
the House upon their past acts, what sort of epitaph should be 
written over their remains ? He himself would write it thus: 

" Here lie the dishonored ashes of a Ministry which found 
England at peace and left it at war, which was content to enjoy 



The Ministry of All the Talents. 



147 



the emoluments of office and to wield the scepter of power so 
long as no man had the courage to question their existence. 
They saw the storm gathering over the country j they heard the 
agonizing accounts which were almost daily received of the 
state of the sick and wounded in the East. These things did not 
move them. But so .soon as the Honorable Member for Sheffield 
raised his hand to point the thunderbolt, they became conscience 
stricken with a sense of guilt, and, hoping to escape punishment, 
they ran away from duty." 

This rebuke, strangely at variance with the studied courtesy 
which custom obliged him to use in his direct reference to the 
man who had run away 
from duty, was received 
with tumultuous cheers 
by a considerable portion 
of the House. When the 
excitement had subsided, 
Mr. Gladstone proceeded. 
He showed conclusively 
that there had been exag- 
gerations as to the state 
of the army ; and that 
matters were improving, 
as Mr. Herbert had al- 
ready told them. The 
adoption of Mr. Roebuck's 
motion would paralyze 
the Government, and 
throw things back into 
that very state of chaotic 
confusion from which 
they were just beginning 
to emerge. The speech 
was a powerful one, and 




Sidney Herbert. 



produced a telling effect upon the House ; but the advantage 
thus gained was far from being sufficient for the needs of the 
Ministry. Mr. Disraeli attacked the war policy of the Govern- 
ment and announced that he should be obliged to give his vote 
against "a deplorable administration;" Lord John Russell at- 
tempted to justify his course in resigning, and Lord Palmerston 
made an energetic and brilliant defense of the Government; but 



148 The Ministry of All the Talents. 

the tide had set too strongly against the Coalition, and no elo- 
quence could save it. 

" Every one knows," says Justin McCarthy, "what a scene us- 
ually takes place when a Ministry is defeated in the House of 
Commons — cheering again and again renewed, counter cheers of 
defiance, wild exultation, vehement indignation, a whole whirl- 
pool of emotions seething in that little hall in St. Stephen's." 
Such is the ordinary scene, as described by one who has fre- 
quently been a participant; but this was decidedly extraordin- 
ary. When the result of the division was announced, says 
Molesworth, " the House seemed to be surprised and almost 
stunned by its own act; there was no cheering; but for a few 
moments a dead silence, which was followed by a burst of de- 
risive laughter." Never before had a Ministry fallen by so de- 
cisive a vote ; the vote in favor of the motion was three hundred 
and five; against it, one hundred and forty-eight. In other 
words, what was virtually a vote of no confidence showed that 
the Ministers could not command the suffrage of one-third the 
members of the House. 

The resignation of Lord Aberdeen and his colleagues was an- 
nounced in the House of Commons Feb. 1st, 1855. Speculation 
had already been rife as to the next Prime Minister. The Queen 
thought to answer the question which was in all men's minds by 
sending for Lord Derby, thus recognizing the principle that in 
time of war the Conservative party is naturally the leader of the 
national councils. Lord Derby at once undertook the task, and 
proceeded to form his cabinet. The one man who was essential to 
it was Lord Palmerston; in spite of the faults which he made no 
effort to conceal, and which made it so difficult for both super- 
iors and subordinates to get along with him, he had some very 
essential powers of mind in these troublous times. He certainly 
knew his own mind, and saw his way clear before him; he pos- 
sessed a fund of common sense, which was not to be baffled by 
those artificial beliefs that have grown up in the minds of the 
world; when he was Home Secretary, for instance, the Presby- 
tery of Scotland had sent to ask him whether it would not be 
advisable, in view of the cholera which was threatened, to ap- 
point a national fast day ; Palmerston replied, with all the grav- 
ity which the occasion demanded, that the laws which Provi- 
dence has ordained for the government of this world require us 
to avoid such diseases by rigid attention to the cleanliness of our 




THE PRINCE AND PRINCESS OF WALES VISITING 
MR. AND MRS. GLADSTONE 



The Ministry of All the Talents. 149 

habitations and their surroundings, and advised them that if the 
cities were not kept in proper sanitary condition, all the fasting 
and prayer would not suffice against the dreaded scourge; and 
there are many instances of such answers, which, while they are 
based on truth and good sense, were yet offensive to the persons 
to whom they were addressed, and often shocked the minds of 
others. Lord Palmerston was clear-sighted and far-sighted; but 
in that involuntary adjustment of the mental sight to the dis- 
tant object which he was engaged in examining, his e3 T e failed to 
take in those particulars which require a shorter range of vis- 
ion. In ridding himself of prejudice, he had unconsciously, and 
perhaps unavoidably, done violence to those sympathetic facul- 
ties which enable us to judge the acts of others most equitably, 
by finding what their motives most probably were. Palmerston 
never allowed for any difference between himself and others; 
were he in a given position, such an act could only be dictated by 
such a motive ; that motive therefore must be the one which act- 
uated the man who had decided upon that course. His lev- 
ity was not intended to be offensive to the men whom he an- 
swered ; he could not understand how it could be so ; and thus 
he kept on considering gravely those questions which were sub- 
mitted to him, and answering them jocosely. 

But in spite of all the offense that he had given, both byword 
and action, this man was so essential to the stability of a Con- 
servative Ministry that Disraeli agreed to waive all claim to the 
leadership of the House of Commons, if that would induce the 
most eminent of Irish peers to cast in his lot with the Derby ad- 
ministration. While the answer of Lord Palmerston was still 
awaited, or perhaps at the same time that the offer had been 
made to him, Lord Derby tendered places in his cabinet to Mr. 
Gladstone and Mr. Herbert, the late Minister of War. These 
three members of the late Government intimated to Lord Derby 
that they could only extend to him an independent support. 
That nobleman accordingly waited upon her Majesty, and inform- 
ed her of the result of his efforts. 

"What is an independent support?" asked the Queen, to 
whom the phrase was probably new, and certainly seemed con- 
tradictory. 

"Madam," replied Derbj^, "an independent support is, like 
an independent Member of Parliament, one that cannot be de- 
pended upon." 



150 The Ministry of All the Talents. 

This explanation seems to have made the matter clear to the 
royal mind, and Derby was relieved from the task to which he 
proved unequal. In accordance with that custom which pre- 
scribes that the tender of this office should be made to members 
of the great parties in alternation, Lord John Eussell was sum- 
moned to the Queen's assistance. But his resignation from a Min- 
istry which was in imminent danger had brought discredit up- 
on him in the eyes of his followers, and he was obliged to con- 
fess his inability. There was but one other in whose experience 
and ability there was sufficient confidence to warrant his being 
placed at the head of affairs, and the post of the First Lord of 
the Treasury was tendered to Viscount Palmerston. 

On February 6th, the announcement was formally made that 
Lord Palmerston had formed his Ministry. In this Cabinet, 
most of the members of the Aberdeen Government were their 
own successors ; the chief changes were the substitution of Pal- 
merston's name for that of Lord Aberdeen, and of Lord Pan- 
niure's for the Duke of Newcastle. Mr. Gladstone retained the 
post of Chancellor of the Exchequer. The appointment of Lord 
Panmure, like the accession of Palmerston himself to power, 
argued a much more vigorous conduct of the war ; for both of 
these men were ardent advocates of the struggle in the East, 
and replaced men who were desirous of peace though at great 
cost. Palmerston, indeed, with his accustomed independence of 
action, had spoken in favor of war, and had caused those journ- 
als whose utterances he largely controlled, to advocate it, even 
while the Ministry of which he was a member deprecated a re- 
sort to actual hostilities. This was essentially a War Ministry. 

The Eoebuck motion, which had caused the resignation of 
Lord Aberdeen, had been carried, as we have already recorded; 
and the committee of inquiry for which it called had been ap- 
pointed. The new Ministry was thus placed in a situation of 
some difficulty at the very beginning of its existence. Lord Pal- 
merston was of the opinion that the Grovernment could not re- 
sist the investigation demanded by so large a majority of the 
House of Commons, and by the whole people as well ; some of 
the members of his Cabinet were resolutely opposed to the ap- 
pointment of a committee vested with such powers. The taking 
of this matter out of the hands of the Government was establish- 
ing a precedent which in the future, no matter what the circum- 
stances, it would be impossible to set aside. Other objections 



The Ministry of All the Talents. 151 

there were, but this was the one advanced by Mr. Gladstone, and 
the one which insists upon the constitutional principle involved 
with the most earnestness; the others concerning themselves 
mainly with the objections to the committee on less general 
grounds. Lord Palmerston thought it would be sufficient to 
change the personnel of the committee, and substitute mem- 
bers selected by the Government; Mr. Roebuck accepted the 
altered list, but the dissatisfied Ministers declined to do so. 
In consequence of this disagreement with the head of the 
Government, three of the ablest and most distinguished mem- 
bers of the Cabinet resigned their positions, and their places 
were at once filled by members of the political party to which 
the Premier belonged. Sir James Graham, Mr. Gladstone 
and Mr. Herbert, were the retiring officials, and were suc- 
ceeded in their respective positions by Sir Charles Wood, Sir 
Cornewall Lewis, and Lord John Russell. " The Ministry of Ali 
the Talents," as the Coalition Cabinet, whose downfall we have 
thus witnessed, was not untruly termed, had been succeeded by 
a Government in which the only talent recognized was that found 
within the boundaries of the Liberal party. 

At the time of his appointment to this office, Lord John Rus- 
sell was on his way to Yienna, as plenipotentiary of the British 
Government in a Conference of the Great Powers for the settle- 
ment of the trouble without further fighting. Shortly afterward, 
there occurred another event, which, with the beginning of nego- 
tiations at Yienna, made an early treaty of peace appear among 
the probabilities. This was the sudden death of the Czar, March 
2, 1855. Nicholas had stated his intentions with regard to Tur- 
key with a frankness almost phenomenal in the history of diplo- 
macy; and had all but made direct proposals to England to di- 
vide that country between the British and Russian Empires. 
England refused ; but he was not daunted, and proceeded to car- 
ry out his policy, which had only changed by the omission of 
England from the list of proposed beneficiaries, by attacking the 
Turks. His son and successor, Alexander III., was of a different 
temper; it was thought that he would be more ready to accede 
to proposals for peace, as it was well known that he was of a 
more liberal and pacific nature than his father. But "scratch a 
Russian and you'll find a Tartar," says the proverb ; and when 
it was once aroused, there was as much of the Tartar in Alexan- 
der as there had been in Nicholas ; and the war was prosecuted 



152 The Ministry of All the Talents. 

UDder the son as vigorously as it had been under the father. 

Nor was this hope the only one that failed. The Conference of 
Vienna broke up, without having accomplished its object, as 
Russia would not yield that one of the famous " Four Points" 
which required her to limit her naval force in the Black Sea. 
Austria finally made propositions which the representatives of 
England and France regarded as affording a prospect of the set- 
tlement of the case, and accepted for the Governments which they 
represented, subject, of course, to ratification at the hands of the 
supreme power in the State; but unfortunately for them, these 
propositions were a virtual surrender of the chief points for 
which England and France had been contending ; the home 
authorities refused the ratification on which they had relied, and 
the plenipotentiaries themselves sunk very low in public opinion. 
The French Minister was obliged to resign the position which 
he had held for some years ; and although the denouement was 
delayed for some time in the case of Russell, it was this which 
ultimately caused his resignation from Palmerston's Ministry. 

The failure of the Conference to restore peace was a great dis- 
appointment to the English people, who looked with much dis- 
favor upon the fact that concessions had been made with this ob- 
ject. The war was still popular with the great majority of the 
people ; and it was intolerable to think that England had offer- 
ed peace, and had the offer refused. This feeling was reflected 
in the House of Commons, as was to be expected ; and the Min- 
isters were frequently attacked by members of both Houses, for 
the uncertain policy which they had adopted. Mr. Disraeli 
brought forward a motion condemning this fault, and supported 
it in a speech three hours long. A member of the Opposition 
had affirmed formally that the propositions of Russia were reas- 
onable, and that some blame attached to the Government for re- 
fusing them; and Mr. Disraeli denounced, with his accustomed 
vigor, this combination of war and diplomacy, at the head of 
which was an embassador distinguished for his inflammatory de- 
nunciations of Russia, and totally incompetent to negotiate a 
peace. 

When Mr. Disraeli made one of his fierce attacks upon the 
ruling party, it had by this time become an established thing 
that Mr. Gladstone was to answer him; and the late Chancellor 
of the Exchequer engaged in the congenial task upon this occas- 
ion. The Four Points, which had sometime before been pro- 



The Ministry All the Talents. 153 

posed as the basis for negotiations, had been so distasteful to 
Russia that she had refused to consider them at all in August, 
1854 ; but the events in the Crimea had been such that in the fol- 
lowing December she had been brought to accept them for con- 
sideration- This proved that the expedition to the Crimea had 
not been wholly unsuccessful. "When the Four Points came to be 
considered, he called their attention to the present state of af- 
fairs. Russia had acceded to the First and Second, which abol- 
ished the Russian Protectorate over the Principalities of Wal- 
lachia, Moldavia and Servia, and placed these provinces under a 
collective guarantee of the Powers, provided for the navigation 
of the Danube to be freed from obstacles at its mouth and regu- 
lated by the principles established by the Congress of Vienna. 
The Third Point was intended to put an end to the preponder- 
ance of Russia in the Black sea, and this was the one which that 
Power would not yield. The Fourth, which related to the sub- 
ject which had nominally caused the war, the treatment of the 
believers in one form of religion by those who held to another, 
the speaker declared that Russia would grant at any time. Nor 
was this all ; the great Northern nation had already acceded to 
a portion of the demands included in the Third Point, and had 
agreed that Turkey might have the power of opening and shut- 
ting the straits. The political purposes of the war had been 
completely gained, he said, although the adverse party had not 
been prostrated, and he felt that he would be incurring a fearful 
responsibility if he did not raise his voice to beseech the House 
to pause before they persevered in a war so bloody and so dec- 
imating, while there was a chance of returning to a condition of 
happy and honorable peace. If the war was continued solely for 
the sake of military success, "let the House look at this senti- 
ment with the eye of reason, and it will appear immoral, inhu- 
man and unchristian. If the war is continued in orderto obtain 
military glory, we shall tempt the justice of Him in whose hands 
is the fate of armies, to launch upon us His wrath." 

But although his eloquence aroused the House to admiration, it 
could do no more. The new Government was still too strong to be 
carried away on the tide of an Opposition speech; and Lord 
John Russell, who replied to Mr. Gladstone, was on the popular 
side. Russia was regarded as a dangerous enemy, whose 
schemes of aggrandizement must be checked while it was pos- 
sible, and before there could be security for Turkey or Europe, 



154 



Tlie Ministry of All the Talents. 



Mr. Gladstone's speech excited wide-spread comment, which 
was not by any means universally favorable. It was regarded as 
lukewarm in the English cause; the Prince-Consort stigmatized it 
as apt to give a wrong opinion as to the determination of the nation 
to support the Queen in the war, and render all chance of ob- 
taining an honorable peace without still greater sacrifices of 




J. A. Roebuck. 

blood and treasure impossible, by giving new hopes and spirit to 
the enemy. Sir E. Bulwer-Lytton spoke on the subject in the 
House, and was vehemently cheered when he reproached Mr. 
Gladstone with desiring to make of no avail the blood which 
had been shed in this cause. Lord Palmerston and Lord John 
Russell were cheered to the echo when they announced that the 
war would be vigorously prosecuted. 

A vote of no confidence, based upon the conduct of the repre- 



The Ministry of Alt the Talents. 155 

sentative of the Government in the Congress of Vienna, was 
proposed by Sir. E. Bulwer-Lytton. The day fixed for the con- 
sideration of this motion was July 16th; but on the 13th Lord 
John Russell again resigned his seat in a Cabinet whose position 
was challenged by the Opposition. The announcement of this, 
on the day fixed for the debate, caused the withdrawal of the 
motion. There was a debate of considerable interest upon this 
motion even after it had been withdrawn, the interest turning 
chiefly upon the personal references which were made to two 
great men of that day by two great men of our own. Mr. Dis- 
raeli attacked Lord Palmerston, whom he accused of machina- 
tions intended to get Lord John out of office • and declared that 
the Premier had addressed the House that very night in a tone 
and with accents which showed that if the honor and interests of 
England were much longer entrusted to him, the one would be 
tarnished and the other betrayed. Such was the language which 
might be used in the House of Commons, thirty years or more 
ago. Mr. Gladstone complained that Lord John had condemned 
propositions which were virtually the same with those which, as 
Minister Plenipotentiary, he had accepted at Yienna. Differing 
from Mr. Disraeli, who accused the Government of inconsistency 
in having at one time been disposed to accept these terms of 
peace, yet he blamed them for now abruptly closing the hope of 
an honorable peace. 

The committee which had been appointed upon Mr. Roebuck's 
motion reported about the middle of summer, and Mr. Roebuck 
made a motion which was virtually a vote of censure upon every 
member of the Aberdeen Cabinet. His speech, however, was re- 
garded as an extreme one, and the proposition to postpone the 
matter for six months, really a condemnation of the speaker's 
position, was carried by an overwhelming majority of those 
members present. 

The war debates continued throughout the brief remainder of 
the session. Mr. Gladstone frequently spoke to urge peace, say- 
ing Turkey was such an ally to England in this war as Anchises 
was to iEneas in the flight from Troy; and predicting the grad- 
ual falling off of other Powers, if England persisted in maintain- 
ing a war, the virtual advantages of which had been already 
gained. 

But the peace for which he was pleading was about to come, 
though, cannon, and not words, were the instruments by which it 



156 The Ministry All the Talents. 

was brought about. The " August City," Sebastopol, had been 
considered impregnable; and a city which will stand a siege of 
eleven months may well be considered as nearly so as fortress- 
es can be made by human hands and natural advantages. The 
siege had begun in October, 1854; and had lasted, with little 
success on the part of the allied forces, until the following Sep- 
tember. It had come to be regarded as the central point of in- 
terest; the war could not end until Sebastopol was taken; and 
the excitement was unbounded when it was known that the Mal- 
akoff and Eedan had been taken by simultaneous attacks by the 
French and British. Following fast upon this announcement, 
came the news that the Russians had retreated; the war was 
over. 

Negotiations for peace were immediately entered into ; and a 
treaty was concluded at Paris in the following March. 



CHAPTER VI. 

PROGRESSING TOWARDS LIBERALISM. 

Treaty Following the Crimean War — Peace Concluded at Paris — Agitation Con- 
cerning the Continental Press — National Education— Bill Providing for the 
Enlistment of Foreigners — 111 Feeling Between England and America — 
Criticism Upon the Government's Foreign Policy — Mr. Gladstone's Alliance 
with His Rival — Government Losing Strength in the House of Commons — 
Majority Against the Government — Attempt to Assassinate the Emperor 
of the French — Remarkable Peroration by Mr. Gladstone — Formation of a 
New Cabinet — Lord Derby at the Front — Financial Outlook Depressing. 

'HE treaty which closed the Crimean war was not a popu- 
lar one ; it was felt that England had not gained the suc- 
cess which ought to have been hers before she consented to 
negotiate for peace ; on the other hand, the French sol- 
diers were thought to have won all the honor which ought to 
have belonged to their allies across the channel. There was not 
one soldier in either army, however, who gained in this war the 
rank of a great general ; the only one who could be said to have 
profited by the hostilities in point of military reputation was on 
the enemy's side — G-en. Todleben. At the same time, there was 
really no definite reason for carrying on the war any longer; 
and the hearty desire manifested by France for peace made it 
impossible for England to hold back, even if her Government 
had been so inclined. It was a singular circumstance, that the 
country which gained all the glory which was awarded by com- 
mon consent to the Allies, was France, where the war had never 
been popular; while England, where the people were enthusias- 
tically in favor of it, had but a small share in the successes which 
ultimately determined the result. 

The French army was well equipped and well managed from 
the first; the English had just begun to be prepared for the cam- 
paign when it ended. Of twenty-two thousand Englishmen who 
died in the Crimea, eighteen thousand perished from disease, 
brought about by the want of proper food, clothing or shelter 
from the inclemency of the weather. Nor was the wisdom of go- 
157 



158 Progressing Towards Liberalism. 

ing to war in the first place universally admitted. "We have al- 
ready had occasion to speak of the societies for the promotion 
of peace, which were organized early in the beginning of the 
trouble, when an appeal to arms had not yet been made by the 
Governments of the west of Europe ; we have seen how strenu- 
ously Bright and other members of Parliament opposed going 
to war upon any pretext whatever; we have said that Lord 
Aberdeen never lost hope of a peaceful solution of the difficulty, 
until the declaration of war had actually been made; and although 
he had said that he would resign sooner than engage in war ? 
he was carried along so insensibly that his resignation was not 
tendered until the Ministry of which he was the head had been 
severely condemned for their mismanagement of matters relating 
to the sustenance and care of the army. So great was this 
statesman's aversion to the war, which he averred would not pro- 
duce any good results to England. The most that it would do, 
ho claimed, would be to preserve the peace in the east of Europe 
for a quarter of a century. This utterance was looked upon at 
the time as the dictum of a man utterly at variance with those 
who were directing affairs, who would see only the dark side of 
the question ; but the event proved that he had not spoken with 
too little confidence; three years before the expiration of the 
term of years assigned for the duration of the peace between 
Eussia and Turkey, those countries were again at war with each 
other. 

Mr. Gladstone seems to have disapproved of the war quite as 
much as his quondam chief. Before England had formally ex- 
pressed her intention of taking part in the struggle, indeed, be- 
fore it was at all probable that she would do so, he had made 
public an interpretation of the existing treaty between Bussia 
and Turkey which recognized the right of Bussia to punish Tur- 
key for the violation of this agreement. The clause which he thus 
understood was the first line of the seventh article, in which the 
Sublime Porte agrees to protect the Christian religion and its 
churches. This was generally taken in connection with the re- 
mainder of the article, which dealt with the management of the 
new church at Constantinople; and the context, particularly the 
reference to the fourteenth article of the same treaty, appeared 
to prove that the promise in the first line was specific, and not 
general, as it was assumed by Mr. Gladstone to be. According 
to him, the promise of the Sultan to protect the Christian relig- 



Progressing Towards Liberalism,. 159 

ion was a distinct engagement from those which follow in the 
same article, an agreement entered into with the sovereign of 
Russia, because he had been defeated by the Russian arms and 
obliged to accept the terms of peace which the Czar dictated to 
him ; and this was duly made by treaty. If he broke any pro- 
vision of this treaty, the nation with which it had been made was 
entitled to call him to account for such a violation, without the 
intervention of any other government, as none other had been 
concerned in the ratification of the original peace; and this 
was not excepted from the general sacredness of those provis- 
ions. We are bound to call the reader's attention to the fact 
that this was Mr. Gladstone's interpretation, not that generally 
accepted; so far as we can learn, he was alone in his under- 
standing of the agreement, though others justified Russia on 
diiferent grounds. The Czar himself did not rest his right to an 
appeal to arms upon this clause, but upon the fact that the four- 
teenth article, which gave him a virtual protectorate over the 
Christians in Asiatic Turkey, had been disregarded by the 
Porte. 

We have quoted this interpretation of a treaty which was 
broken more than thirty years ago, and has been forgotten near- 
ly as long, to justify Mr. Gladstone's course during the war. 
That course was not approved by Parliament; as we have al- 
ready seen, the whole Aberdeen Ministry was condemned be- 
cause it gave but a lukewarm support by its measures at home to 
an army which was already in the field. The members of that 
Cabinet had opposed the war from the first, acting in their cor- 
porate capacity; the few who approved of it were transferred to 
the next Ministry; but we can hardly wonder that a man who 
looked upon the war as one based upon a mistaken idea — upon 
indefensible interference with another nation's business — should 
hesitate about lending a cordial support to its prosecution. 

March 31st, 1856, Lord Palmerston announced to the House of 
Commons that a treaty of peace had been concluded at Paris; a 
similar announcement was made in the House of Lords at the 
same time. The terms of the treaty became the subject of de- 
bate as soon as they were announced. An address to the Queen 
was at once moved in both Houses; the amendment proposed in 
the House of Commons was merely the substitution of the word 
"satisfaction" for the word "joy" at the conclusion of peace; but 
this trifling alteration was sufficient to bring the subject into the 



160 Progressing Towards Liberalism. 

arena of debate. After the speeches by the mover and seconder 
of this address, and that made to introduce this amendment, Mr. 
Gladstone addressed the House. It had been admitted that 
the peace was not a popular one, because the majority of Eng- 
lishmen thought it had been concluded at a time when Eng- 
land might have won further successes; and Mr. Gladstone and 
his allies were not regarded with any favor by the House on ac- 
count of their connection with the war. Such were the feelings 
of many of his listeners on this occasion. 

The treaty was an honorable one, he said, because the objects 
of the war had been obtained. ' Those who had spoken against it 
had said that Great Britain, with the other Christian Powers, 
had becomebound for the maintenance of Turkey, not only against 
foreign aggression, but as a Mohammedan State. In reply to 
this, Mr. Gladstone said that if he had so understood the words 
of the treaty, he would not support an address which expressed 
either joy or satisfaction at the conclusion of such a peace, but 
would look for the most emphatic word to express his condem- 
nation of an agreement to support a set of institutions which 
Christendom must endeavor to reform if she could, though he was 
not sanguine as to the result of that effort. It would be the work 
and care of many generations, he said, to bring such an effort to 
a happy and prosperous conclusion ; and he did not underrate 
the difficulties presented by the juxtaposition of a people pro- 
fessing the Mohammedan religion with a rising Christian popu- 
lation having adverse and conflicting interests. But there was 
another point to be considered in connection with this treaty. 
The encroachment of Eussia upon Turkey, and the final absorp- 
tion of the one by the other, would be an evil as great as any 
which could arise from the maintenance of Turkey as a Moham- 
medan state. Such a danger to the peace, liberties and privileges 
of all Europe, Great Britain was bound to resist by all the means in 
her power. It was a thing to be regretted that a more substan- 
tive existence had not been secured to the principalities, but this 
was not the fault of England or of France. The neutralization 
of the Black Sea he also condemned, as meaning nothing but a 
series of pitfalls in time of war; and he thought that recognized 
rules to regulate interference on behalf of the Christians should 
have been established. It was a great triumph that the Powers 
had agreed to submit international differences to arbitration, 
though in this very agreement there was much danger of diplo« 



Progressing Towards Liberalism. 161 

matic contention promoting the quarrels which it was intended 
to prevent. He argued that no country ought to submit claims 
for arbitration unless those claims were such as it would be wil- 
ling to support by an appeal to arms ; such a course might lead 
to the reduction of the standing armies which were so severe a 
tax upon all the countries of Europe ; and the speaker rejoiced 
that the anticipation of this state of affairs had already led the 
two leading military nations to contemplate a reduction of their 
establishment ; for Eussia and France were about to set this bold 
example. 

Although it was an innovation to entertain such subjects in 
Conferences of pacification, Mr. G-ladstone expressed his satis- 
faction with the course which had been taken with regard to 
Naples ; but he regretted that the records inscribed upon the 
protocols were not treaty engagements, and did not approximate 
that character. As the case stood, they were authoritative doc- 
ments, which might be appealed to by those whose case they 
strengthened, but which were far from possessing the authority 
of a treaty with those who desired to disregard them. Confus- 
ion would inevitably arise from these semi-authoritative engage- 
ments, and infinite discussion be based upon their character. 

The most important question which had been decided at this 
conference, regarding the nations which had not actually taken 
part in the war, was that relating to the Belgian press. The ex- 
cess in which the journals of that country had indulged with im- 
punity was represented as having been condemned by all the 
plenipotentiaries present, though Lord Clarendon, one of the 
British representatives, had told them that the scheme suggested 
would find no support or sympathy in England. The embassa- 
dors of Prussia and Austria had said that the repression of the 
press was a European necessity; the French negotiator had said 
that legislation on the subject of the Belgian press was required; 
Count Orloff, on the part of Eussia, declined to express any opin- 
ion, having no instructions from his Government. The speaker 
said that he hoped these statements were not declarations of pol- 
icy, and that they would be regretted and forgotten, as having 
issued lightly from their mouths. He pointed out that the Bel- 
gian Constitution required a trial by jury in case of such offen- 
ces ; and that this provision could not be readily changed. He 
concluded by urging that this appeal, contemplated under the 
compulsion of foreign Powers, some of whom were remote in 
u 



162 



Progressing Towards Liberalism. 



situation, having for its object the limitation of the dearest 
rights and most cherished liberties of the gallant and high-spir- 
ited people to which it was addressed, was not a policy which 
tended to clear the political horizon, but rather to render it more 
gloomy. 

Lord Palmerston closed the debate with a speech in which he 




Lord Clarendon. 

assured the House that the British Government would take no 
part in any interference with an independent nation with the 
view of dictating what steps she should take to gag the press. 
The amendment was withdrawn after this assurance from the 
Prime Minister, and the address was agreed upon. The Crimean 
War was formally at an end. 



Progressing Towards Liberalism. 163 

The subject of National Education was the next important 
topic brought before the House. Lord John Russell introduced 
a series of resolutions, providing that the funds available for pub- 
lic instruction should be applied in accordance with certain pro- 
visions, and laying down conditions for the compulsory educa- 
tion of children from nine to fifteen, who were employed at any 
kind of work. These resolutions were opposed by Mr. Glad- 
stone, who asserted that the system of education which they tend- 
ed to create was lacking in the most important element of moral 
influence upon the character of the pupil; and that the system of 
inspection proposed tended to create a central controlling power, 
involving secular instruction and endless religious controversy. 
A division upon the question, "That the chairman do now leave 
the chair ;" was negatived by a majority of more than a hundred ; 
and as this was virtually a condemnation of the measures pro- 
posed, the resolutions were not proceeded with. In the list of 
the divisions on this question, we find some strange groupings 
of names: Cockburn, Grey, Horsman, Palmerston, Villiers, and 
Wood were recorded as voting in the affirmative; while among 
those who were agreed to condemn the resolutions were Glad- 
stone and Disraeli, with the Lord Robert Cecil who, in 1884, as 
the Marquis of Salisbury, succeeded the former as Premier. 

Mr. Gladstone commented with some severity upon the budget 
which the Chancellor of the Exchequer brought forward in May, 
after a somewhat lengthy statement in February, which had also 
met with the disapproval of the late official, who had shown him- 
self such a master of finance; but the propositions of the incum- 
bent were finally agreed to. The Palmerston Government was 
still strong enough to resist the Opposition in such an important 
measure as the budget. 

The English Parliament had in 1855 passed a bill providing for 
the enlistment of foreigners in the Crimean army, and the ac- 
tions of some of the consuls in this country had produced con- 
siderable trouble between the two Governments. Nor was this 
all: the Brttish embassador himself was accused by the United 
States of subverting international law by secretly enlisting citi- 
zens of the United States in the British army. Lord Clarendon 
had insisted that the embassador had not been guilty of any of- 
fense, but an eminent American lawyer had given an opinion di- 
rectly the contrary of this. There was bad feeling on both sides, 
and the British Minister at Washington was actually dismissed. 



164 Progressing Towards Liberalism. 

While this feeling was at its height (June 30th) a motion was intro- 
duced which was really an attempt to censure the Government for 
the course which had been pursued. The debate was a long one, as 
there were several views which might be taken of the measure. Of 
the Opposition, there were some who, for mere sake of party ad- 
vantage, were ready to support such an attempt ; there were 
some, on both sets of benches, who thought that the United 
States had just reason to complain; and there were some who 
held this last view, and some who held the opposite, who would 
not join in any such vote, intended as it was to embarrass the 
Government. 

Mr. Gladstone was one of those who, while he did not defend 
the conduct of the Minister at Washington, was not ready to 
weaken the hands of the Ministers when the party which he re- 
presented was not prepared to displace them. In his speech, he 
said that it appeared to him that there were two cardinal aims 
which ought to be kept in view ; these were peace and a thorough- 
ly cordial understanding with America for one, and the honor 
and fame of England for the other. But he was not satisfied with 
the existing state of things in regard to either of these, or with 
the conduct of the Government. A cordial understanding with 
America had not been preserved, and the honor of England had 
been compromised. He had had great difficulty in coming to a de- 
cision as to the vote which he should give upon this question ; but 
could not meet the resolution with a direct negative. Explain- 
ing the position in which he stood, he proceeded to inquire into 
the true state of the case. He charged the British Government 
with practising concealment, and asserted that the United States 
Government had been deceived and misled. The law had know- 
ingly been broken by the agents of the British Government ; 
and the American Government had cause to complain, since an 
agency within the United States had been employed to give in- 
formation and to tempt, by the offer of valuable considerations, 
citizens of the United States to go beyond their boundaries for 
the purpose of enlisting in the English army. The British em- 
bassador had not only failed to inform the United States that 
this was being done, thus justifying the charge of concealment, 
but he had wilfully broken his engagement not to communicate, 
except to those who addressed themselves to him, the terms up- 
on which they would be received into the army. Mr. Gladstone 
maintained that those four officials who had been punished had 




MR. GLADSTONE IN HIS LIBRARY AT HAWARDEN 



Progressing Towards Liberalism. 165 

only been made scape-goats for the Government which had up- 
held their actions in the main. The question was a most remark- 
able illustration, he said, of the disorganized state of the great 
parties ; such a disagreement upon any subject of foreign policy 
would have been impossible in the days when Lord John Russell 
and his allies occupied the Treasury Benches, and Sir Robert 
Peel sat opposite. 

As we have already intimated, Mr. Gladstone, though he con^ 
demned the policy of the Government upon this question, was 
not ready to give his vote to an ineffectual attempt to overthrow 
that Government. There were many others who thought as he 
did, and the Ministry had a majority of nearly two hundred up- 
on the division. 

At the opening of the session of 1857, when the royal speech 
was read and the address came up for consideration, Mr. Dis- 
raeli made some severe strictures upon the Government, mainly 
in relation to its foreign policy. To these criticisms the Chancel- 
lor of the Exchequer, who obtained the floor immediately after- 
ward to make a statement with relation to his financial measures, 
made not the slightest reply. The omission was a notable one, 
and Mr. Gladstone pointed it out. After expressing his surprise 
that such censure of the Ministry had been unanswered by the 
member of the Cabinet who had spoken, he proceeded to speak of 
the questions of foreign policy with which the Government had 
at that time to deal. There had been difficulties with China; 
there were actual hostilities with Persia; there was a dispute 
with regard to Central America ; there were some points of the 
Treaty of Paris on which information was desirable. All these were 
points which the Government had had opportunity to consider, 
and on which there ought to be some explanation furnished to 
the House. Coming to the statement just made by the Chancellor 
of the Exchequer, Mr. Gladstone dealt at length with the old 
question of the Income Tax, which was again revived by the ne- 
cessity of increasing the revenue to meet the expenses of the war. 
Again he protested against a loan designed to meet this neces- 
sity ; and he was likewise opposed to new taxation. The Gov- 
ernment had in 1853 pledged itself to abolish this tax in seven 
years; and that pledge, which had been given and received in 
good faith, ought not to be recalled, now that four years of the 
seven had passed . As far as his duty was concerned, he would give 
his effort and labor to fulfill those pledges, which he had not for- 



[66 Progressing Towards Liberalism. 

gotten, and was not likely to forget. He should always remem- 
ber with gratitude, he said, the conduet of the House' of Com- 
mons at the time when those measures were adopted, and the 
generosity which they had evinced ; and he promised that that 
gratitude should be evinced by his efforts to secure the extinc- 
tion of the Income Tax at the time fixed. 

The budget was brought before the house Feb. 13th, in a speech 
which, though it did not have the same effect which Mr. Glad- 
stone's addresses on the same subject had had for the House, and 
did not prove as entertaining as Mr. Disraeli's had been upon a 
similar occasion, was yet superior to the general run of budget 
speeches. The plan proposed was one of considerable merit, 
being clearly stated and ably justified. But it had the one great 
disadvantage of being a total innovation upon the plan which 
had been established by this Parliament in previous sessions, 
based upon the financial measures inaugurated by Sir Robert 
Peel, which Mr. Gladstone, while holding this office, had natural- 
ly carried out, and now defended. Nor w T as there any startling 
merit about this plan, to compensate for the disadvantage of its 
being so totally different from the measures which had been ap- 
proved and carried out. But the part of the plan which Mr. 
Gladstone most severely condemned, was the increase in the tax 
upon tea and sugar. He stigmatized the proposition of the 
Chancellor as a plan to remit the taxes which bore heavily upon 
the wealthy, and make up the deficiency thus occasioned by du- 
ties upon those articles which were used in the family of every 
laborer in the country. He added that he should oppose this 
policy at every stage of its progress before the House. 

In the division which took place upon this question, we find 
Mr. Gladstone again side by side with Mr. Disraeli. But the 
alliance of the two rivals was not sufficient to defeat the Govern- 
ment in its financial schemes, and the amendment to the budget 
which was the immediate cause of this speech was lost by a ma- 
jority of eighty votes.' 

A few weeks later, the Chancellor of the Exchequer intro- 
duced an amended scale for the tea duty ; and, true to his prom- 
ise, Mr. Gladstone opposed the measure. In the course of the 
speech which he made at this time, he told the Ministry that if 
he wished to advocate an extended and oi'ganic reform in the 
parliamentary representation, he could not desire a better case 
than the one which the Government's financial policy had furnish- 



Progressing Towards Liberalism. 



167 



ed him. The Chancellor of the Exchequer professed his inabil- 
ity to prepare a scheme upon the principles recommended by 
Mr. Gladstone, and the division proved that he had no need to 
do so, the G-overnment being supported by a majority of fifty- 
two. 




Division Barrier and Lobby of the House of Commons. Taking a Division. 

In the discussion which followed the second reading of the In- 
come Tax Bill, Mr, Gladstone again drew attention to the great 



168 Progressing Towards Liberalism. 

expenditure of the revenue, and charged that the foreign policy 
of the Government was not unconnected with the excessive tax- 
ation and high expenditure of the country; in a subsequent 
speech, he called attention to the enormous increase in the mili- 
tary estimates. In this latter case, however, he did not press a 
division, and the proposals of the Government on the Naval Es- 
timate passed the House. 

We find him in the minority in the division on the Divorce 
Bill which passed the House this session ; contending gallantly, 
though vainly, for the equality of woman with man in all the 
rights pertaining to marriage, and dealing with the question on 
social, moral and legal grounds. 

The Government was gradually losing strength in the House, 
though it was still popular in the country; the next import- 
ant debate was one that showed its weakness. There had 
been considerable trouble with China regarding the opium trade, 
in which the British were charged with conniving at smuggling. 
The crew of a lorcha which had been licensed to carry the Brit- 
ish flag had been seized, in the harbor of Canton, by Chinese au- 
thorities ; it was said by the Opposition that the license had ex- 
pired, and that the Arrow was in no sense a British vessel ; it 
was said by the Government that the Chinese mandarin who 
made the seizure actually caused the British flag to be hauled 
down from the mast, and replaced by the Chinese ensign. A mo- 
tion condemning the action of the Government in reference to 
this affair was introduced into the House of Lords, where it was 
defeated by a majority of thirty-six; a similar motion was 
brought before the House of Commons by Mr. Cobden. The de- 
bate lasted four nights, and almost every member of the House 
who was distinguished as an orator expressed an opinion upon 
the side which he supported, the discussion thus attaining an un- 
usually high level of parliamentary oratory. 

Mr. Gladstone was among the last who spoke, and thus had the 
advantage of summing up and answering the arguments of his 
adversaries. He denied that the British Government had any- 
thing to complain of in the treatment which had been received 
from the Chinese, which had been strictly in accordance with 
the engagements entered into in the treaty of 1842. He called 
attention to the number of times that British subjects had of- 
fended against the provisions of this treaty and their conduct 
been condoned by the Chinese Government, he defended Sir 



Progressing Towards Liberalism. 169 

James Graham, who had been attacked by Sir George Grey and 
ridiculed for his reference to Christian principles as the basis of 
the action of the Government. He said that since this appeal to 
Christian principles was thus forbidden, he would appeal to 
something older than Christianity; broader, since it was where 
Christianity is not; to that which underlies Christianity, for 
Christianity appeals to it — the justice which binds man to man. 
It was this which must regulate the intercourse between Gov- 
ernments, and he denied that it had been the principle upon 
which the British Ministry had been guided in this affair, as well 
as others in which they had had to deal with the Chinese. 

The position of the Government was stated by Lord Palmer- 
ston, though he had the disadvantage of speaking at a time of the 
night when the members were tired out; notwithstanding the 
lateness of the hour, however, he was immediately followed by 
Mr. Disraeli, who accepted the construction which had been put 
upon the motion, that it was a vote of censure upon the Govern- 
ment ; and replying to Palmerston's alarm over a suggested com- 
bination, bade him appeal to the country if he thought himself 
the victim of a political conspiracy. 

Mr. Cobden closed the debate in a brief speech, and at two 
o'clock in the morning, on the fourth night of the debate, the 
division was taken. It showed a majority of sixteen against the 
Government. Lord Palmerston, when this result was announ- 
ced, stated that although the usual course under such circumstan- 
ces would be to resign, he did not believe that the present Min- 
istry was to be held to that rule. He therefore decided to dis- 
solve Parliament, and appeal to the country. 

As had been anticipated, the Government received a consider- 
able accession of strength at the general election which ensued. 
Liberals and Peelites suffered considerably, Cobden and Bright 
being prominent members of the former party who failed of'elec- 
tion. Mr. Gladstone, however, was again returned by the Uni- 
versity, this time without opposition. It should be here men- 
tioned that although the Peelite party was a small one, the abil- 
ity of its members was great, and it therefore commanded a great- 
er degree of respect than has been the portion of most organiza- 
tions of similar numerical strength, and possessed an influence 
proportioned to this moral standing. 

Parliament met for a short session before Christmas, when an 
important financial measure came up for consideration. The su.s- 



170 Progressing Towards Liberalism. 

pension of several banks in the United States had created a mon- 
etary panic, and the directors of the Bank of England, desiring 
to increase their issue of notes to meet the demand thus created, 
asked authority to do so. To grant this permission, the Govern- 
ment was obliged to ask for a suspension of the Bank Charter 
Act of 1844, and brought a Bill of Indemnity before the House 
for that purpose. Mr. Gladstone did not oppose the bill, but ar- 
gued that it would be wiser to investigate the causes of the late 
panic, and how far they were connected with the state of banking. 
The effect of referring a heap of subjects to an overburdened 
committee would be to postpone legislation, and obstruct inquiry 
into the causes of the recent panic and the present embarrass- 
ment. When the bill came up for the third reading, Mr. Glad- 
stone reiterated these arguments, and showed what evils arose 
from the confusion prevailing between the functions of banking 
and currency. The bill passed the House, an amendment pro- 
posed by Mr. Disraeli being rejected by a considerable majority. 
When the House met after the Christmas recess, there was con- 
siderable excitementprevailingover theattemptto assassinate the 
Emperor of the French which had recently been made by Orsini. 
There was a good deal of sympathy existing in England for the 
proposed victim, but this was not understood by the French, 
who charged that England afforded an asylum for conspirators 
against the peace and welfare of other states. Foreign refugees, 
they claimed, were allowed to concoct and mature plots to be 
carried into execution elsewhere. This was not an accusation 
brought merely by agitators and irresponsible journals, but 
gravely preferred by the French Minister for Foreign Affairs, 
though in such a modified form as diplomacy permits. He urged 
upon the Premier the necessity of legislation on this subject; 
and at the beginning of the session of 1858 Lord Palmerston in- 
troduced his Conspirac} r to Murder Bill. The first reading was 
carried by an immense majority; but by the time that it came 
before the House again, the impression had obtained that the 
Ministers were simply puppets in the hands of Napoleon III. 
Mr. Gibson accordingly moved an amendment inquiring why the 
dispatch of the French Minister had not been answered. The 
statement that England was a lair of savage beasts and a labora- 
tory of assassins was quoted as the utterance of a prominent 
French orator; it was asserted that the bill was introduced at 
the dictation of a foreign government ; and Lord Palmerston 



Progressing Towards Liberalism. 171 

was accused, by a quotation from the Times which was cited with 
approval by the speaker, of being capable of making any sacri- 
fice of principle or interest to secure the good-will of a foreign 
power which he had made up his mind to court. But the most 
powerful speech that was made in this connection, and the one 
of most enduring interest, as taking a broad and statesmanlike 
view of the condition of the time, was that of Mr. Gladstone. 

Lord Palmerston had stated that the dispatch referred to in 
the amendment had been answered verbally; but Mr. Gladstone 
pointed out that this was the weakest kind of an answer; of all 
explanations which could be offered to the House, this was the 
most unsatisfactory. The French Minister's dispatch should 
have been answered by stating the law already existing in Eng- 
land on the subject. In place of this reply, the Houses of Parlia- 
ment were asked to answer by passing the Bill which had been 
proposed by the Premier. Mr. Gladstone's peroration is a re- 
markable commentary upon the English Government and its 
measures of repression thirty years later: 

"If there is any feeling in this House for the honor of Eng- 
land, don't let us be led away by some vague statement as to the 
necessity of reforming the criminal law. Let us insist upon the 
necessity of vindicating that law. As far as justice requires, let, 
us have the existing law vindicated, and then let us proceed to 
amend it if it be found necessary. But do not let us allow it to 
lie under a cloud of accusations of which we are convinced that 
it is totally innocent. These times are grave for liberty. We 
live in the nineteenth century; we talk of progress ; we believe 
that we are advancing; but can any man of observation who has 
watched the events of the last few years in Europe have failed 
to perceive that there is a movement indeed, but that it is a 
downward and backward movement? There are a few spots in 
which institutions that claim our sympathy still exist and flour- 
ish. They are secondary places — nay, they are almost the holes 
and corners of Europe so far as mere material greatness is con- 
cerned, although their moral greatness will, I trust, insure them 
long prosperity and happiness. But in these times more than 
ever does responsibility center upon the institutions of England; 
and if it does center upon England, upon her principles, upon 
her laws, and upon her governors, then I say that a measure 
passed by this House of Commons, the chief hope of freedom, 
which attempts to establish a moral complicity between us and 



172 



Progressing Towards Liberalism. 



those who seek safety in repressive measures will he a blow ar«3 
discouragement to that sacred cause in every country of the 
world." 

After a number of speeches, chief among which was one in 
which Mr. Disraeli called the attention of the debaters to the fact 
that the real question before the House was not diplomatic or 
political, but one between the House and the Ministers of the 
Crown, Lord Palmerston rose to reply. He deprecated the de- 
partures which had been made from the topic under considera- 
tion, particularly by Messrs. Gibson and Gladstone, who, he com- 
plained, had entered into an elaborate attack upon his conduct 

when he was Secretary for 
Foreign Affairs ; his attack 
upon Mr. Gibson was a bit- 
ter, personal one, which was 
interrupted by strong ex- 
pressions of disapproval 
from the House ; and he ad- 
dressed himself to a consid- 
eration of the point at issue. 
His defense of the course 
of the Government did not 
justify it in the eyes of the 
House, however, for the di- 
vision showed that the Min- 
istry was in a minority of 
nineteen. Many of those who 
thus voted did not wish to 
overthrow the Government, 
and it is probable that if 
Palmerston had asked for a 
vote of confidence it would have been granted by a majority suf- 
cient to justify him in retaining the reins of power; but his gov- 
ernment had been defeated very recently by a majority which, 
although small, was such that the Opposition had expected the 
resignation of the Ministry to follow it ; he had appealed to the 
country; and although he had then received the encouragement 
for which he had hoped, this fresh defeat, coming immediately 
after the reassembling of Parliament, determined his course. Am- 
bitious of office he might be, but he had never shown an undue 
tenacity of it; and he accordingly resigned his post. 




0\ y ■.'■ '■ 



'■SS'^W-w 1 



Rt. Hon. T. Milner Gibson. 



Progressing Towards Liberalism. 173 

Lord Derby was sent for by the Queen, and accepted the task 
imposed upon him of forming a Ministry. With a good deal of 
difficulty he at last succeeded. In this cabinet, Mr. Disraeli was 
again Chancellor of the Exchequer. It is significant of the grad- 
ual change in his opinions that at this late day, Mr. Gladstone 
was offered a post (that of Colonial Secretary) in this Conserva- 
tive Government. We are not informed if he proposed to extend 
only an independent support, or if he positively and unhesitat- 
ingly declined the offer. Certainly he did not again take office 
under a Tory Minister. 

The Houses adjourned, to give the new Premier an opportun- 
ity of forming his Cabinet ; and reassembled March 1st. Lord 
Derby, in his first speech to the House of Lords, begged their 
forbearance for his failure to make a complete statement of his 
intended policy; the time had been too short to allow him to 
prepare such an important resume ; there were two points which 
required immediate consideration, however; these were the 
changes to be effected in the system of government of India, and 
the question of parliamentary reform. The first of these had al- 
ready been under consideration for some time, a bill for that pur- 
pose having been introduced into the House of Commons by Lord 
Palmerston. This, however, had not gone beyond its first read- 
ing ; and it became necessary for the present Government to pre- 
sent a measure in place of that proposed by its predecessor. Mr. 
Disraeli, who had by this change of Ministry become the leader 
of the House of Commons, brought forward the measure, usu- 
ally denominated India Bill No. 2, to distinguish it from that 
introduced by Lord John Russell on behalf of the Palmerston 
Ministry; but this bill, like its predecessor, never got beyond 
the first reading. A sort of compromise, however, was pro- 
posed by Lord John Eussell, and gladly accepted by Mr. Dis- 
raeli, by which the question was dealt with by way of resolution. 
Before these resolutions could be considered, however, by the 
House, the Ministry was brought to the brink of dissolution. 
Lord Canning, the Governor-General of India, sent back a draft 
of a proclamation which he proposed to issue, announcing a 
scheme of confiscation which was certainly open to very grave 
objection, and which would probably have caused the flames of 
rebellion, so recently extinguished, to burst forth with renewed 
fury. Lord Ellenborough, the President of the Indian Board of 
Control, wrote a strongly worked protest against the policy thus 



174 Progressing Towards Liberalism. 

recommended. This should of course have been kept private 
until it reached its destination; but copies of it were sent to 
Lord Granville, the intimate friend of Lord Canning, and to 
John Bright, who was the most eminent advocate of a mild and 
generous policy toward the natives of India. The consequence 
was that the purport of Lord Canning's proclamation and Lord 
Ellenborough's strictures upon it, became known, and Lord 
Shaftesbury in the House of Lords, and Mr. Cardwell in the 
House of Commons, brought forward motions which were vir- 
tually votes of censure upon the Government. If these had been 
carried, there would of course have been a change of Ministry 
within a week of the time when Lord Derby had first addressed 
the House of Lords upon his accession to office ; but Lord Ellen- 
borough, who seems to have been the only one to blame in this 
indiscreet publicity given to unsettled questions, saved the Minis- 
try by sacrificing himself; and made room for his successor. 

Lord Shaftesbury's motion had been defeated by the Lords be- 
fore this resignation was announced ; but Mr. Cardwell's was 
still the subject of debate in the House of Commons. This dis- 
cussion had extended over four nights when Lord Ellenborough's 
resignation was announced, and the motion was withdrawn by 
the member who had presented it. He was induced to do thisb} r 
the requests of many members who had agreed to support it, but 
declined to do so after the matter had taken this turn. Disraeli, 
whose power of coining telling phrases would have made him a 
power in a state which was, like the government of the First 
Napoleon, " a despotism tempered by epigrams," has described 
this scene in such graphic language that, although it is a depar- 
ture from the strict line of our subject, we cannot refrain from 
quoting: 

"There is nothing like that last Friday night in the history of 
the House of Commons. "We came down to the House expecting 
to divide at four o'clock in the morning; I myself probably ex- 
pecting to deliver an address two hours after midnight ; and I 
believe that, even with the consciousness of a good cause, that is 
no mean effort. Well, gentlemen, we were all assembled ; our 
benches with their serried ranks seemed to rival those of our 
proud opponents ; when suddenly there arose a wail of distress, 
but not from us. I can only liken the scene to the mutiny of 
the Bengal army. Eegiment after regiment, corps after corps, 
general after general all acknowledged that they could not march 



'Progressing Towards JLiberalism. 175 

through Coventry. It was like a convulsion of nature rather 
than an ordinary transaction of human life. I can only liken it to 
one of those earthquakes which take place in Calabria and Peru. 
There was a rumbling murmur, a groan, a shriek, a sound of dis- 
tant thunder. No one knew whether it came from the top or the 
bottom of the House. There was a rent, a fissure in the ground, 
and then a village disappeared, then a tall tower toppled down, 
and the whole of the Opposition Benches became one great dis- 
solving view of anarchy." 

According to Lord Derby, that which most peculiarly apper- 
tained to this passage, above wit, and clearness, and humor, was 
the undeniable truth ; it was not exaggerated, he adds, for there 
was no exaggeration possible; and this is the testimony of an 
eye-witness. 

There were many passages in the address from which this ex- 
tract is taken which gave great offence at the time ; they were 
strongly disputed by the late Ministry whose course was thus as- 
sailed, but still insisted upon by Lord Derby and Mr. Disraeli. 

After this interrruption, which had so nearly proved fatal to 
the new Government, the House of Commons returned to the 
consideration of those resolutions upon which India Bill No. 3 
was to be based. They provided that the government of India 
should be transferred from the Company to the Crown. A Sec- 
retary of State for India was to be appointed, who was to be as- 
sisted by a council of fifteen. These advisers, who were to hold 
office during good behavior, were to be nominated by different 
powers. Of the number, eight were to hold their appointments 
from the Crown, while the remainder were to be nominated by 
the board of directors the first time ; afterward by the council 
itself. The various civil offices, the appointments to which had 
been under the direct control of the directors, were to be filled 
in future in accordance with the results of certain examinations, 
which were to be competitive. This is the beginning of that 
Civil Service Eeform which has since been so largely adopted in 
England and which has excited so much controversy in Amer- 
ica. It had been advocated as early as 1827, but the inno- 
vation upon English customs had been stoutly resisted ; the Gov- 
ernment was quite willing to try an experiment in India, how- 
ever, which they were doubtful about inaugurating in England. 
The chief advocate of the system, at the time of which we write 
was no less a political economist than John Stuart Mill. 



176 Progressing Towards Liberalism. 

This plan of government for India was earnestly opposed by 
Mr. Gladstone, who enunciated principles in connection with the 
management of Indian affairs by the English Parliament which 
he, long afterward, was brought to admit ought to be applied to 
the case of another country. The interests of the people of In- 
dia had hitherto been protected by the Court of Directors ; but 
by the provisions of this bill they were left at the mercy of the 
ignorance, or error, or indiscretion of the people and Parlia- 
ment of England. There was no limitation to the power of the 
Executive through the treasury and army of India, by which 
wars might be commenced without the knowlege or consent of 
Parliament, and an accumulation of debt would be cast upon 
India. 

This bill was finally withdrawn by Mr. Disraeli, and Mr. Glad- 
stone endeavored to prevent further ill-considered legislation up- 
on this important subject by a resolution which he introduced 
June 7th. This resolution affirmed that it was expedient to 
create the Court of Directors of the East India Company, to ad- 
minister the government of India in the name of the Queen, un- 
til the end of that session of Parliament. It was not possible, he 
said, during the session of Parliament to perfeet a scheme of 
government which would be worthy to stand as the plan for rul- 
ing a people like that of India; the problem was one of the 
most formidable ones ever presented to any legislature or any 
nation, and the evils of delay were insignificant in comparison 
with those of crude and hasty legislation. After a long discus- 
sion, this was negatived by a considerable majority, and the 
Government formally introduced the India Bill ]STo. 3. 

Mr. Bright's idea of good government in India would be se- 
cured, he thought, by the constitution of five Presidencies of 
equal rank, among which there would be a generous rivalry for 
good, instead of utter stagnation ; evil ambition would be check- 
ed, and there would be no governor so great that he could not be 
controlled. This, however, was not regarded as wholly practica- 
ble. Mr. Gladstone's amendment, which was proposed later on, 
met with more favor. It provided that the forces maintained out 
of the revenue of India should not be employed in any military 
operation outside of India, except for repelling invasion, or un- 
der some other urgent and sudden necessity, without the consent 
of Parliament for the purpose. This amendment was carried, 
and on the 8th of July the bill passed the House of Commons. 



'Progressing Towards Liberalism. 



Ill 



Another speech which Mr. Gladstone delivered during this 
session has great interest when taken in connection with his at- 
titude and utterances on the same subject some years later. This 
was on the subject of the Danubian Principalities, the people of 
which were extremely anxious for the union which had been dis- 
cussed at the Congress of Paris. The question had been submitted 
to the people themselves, and they had been found to be almost 
unanimously in favor of it. They asked something more than 




Earl of Derby. 

mere union, however; it would be necessary, in order to guard 
against local jealousies, that they should have a prince or chief 
taken from a foreign family. This would secure peace between 
Turkey and Eussia by interposing a boundary of neutral terri- 
tory, or what would be practically neutral, between the two fron- 
tiers. The feeling in these Principalities was favorable to Tur- 
key, because their relations with Turkey were founded upon a 
liberal basis, and there had thus far been no sensible collision of 
interests. If the union did not take place, the Principalities 

12 



1"8 Progressing Towards Liberalism. 

would be a constant source of anxiety to Europe; nor could it 
have the slightest injurious effect upon the Ottoman Empire, 
which had never possessed the sovereignty of the Principalities. 
He said that it would have been far better to have said nothing 
about the union, than to hold out the hope of it, and then re- 
verse the policy. The speech concluded with these words : 

" I must really say that if it were our desire to embroil the 
East, to sow the seeds and create the elements of permanent dif- 
ficulty and disunion, to aggravate every danger which threatens 
Turkey, and to prepare willing auxiliaries for Russia in her pro- 
jects southwards, we could not attain those objects by any means 
better than that of abandoning our pledges and promises, and 
giving in to the Austrian policy." 

This speech, which was made in support of a motion to pres- 
ent an address to the Queen upon the subject, was answered by 
Mr. Disraeli, who said that he could not conceive a step which 
would be more embarrassing to the Government than the adop- 
tion of Mr. Gladstone's motion. Upon a division, the Government 
obtained a majority of nearly two hundred votes. 

Many circumstances combined to make the financial outlook 
depressing, and Mr. Disraeli's supporters looked forward to his 
budget with not a little anxiety and trepidation. But when the 
statement was made, it obtained favor with the country general- 
ly ; and what contributed largely to its success in the House, Mr. 
Gladstone's speech on the subject was very friendly to the 
schemes which were there proposed. 

The next series of duties in which we find Mr. Gladstone en- 
gaged differ so widely from the Parliamentary routine which has 
been described in the present chapter, that its consideration may 
well be postponed to the next division of this biography. 



CHAPTER VII. 



THE PALMERSTON MINISTRY. 



Lord Macaulay — Eminent Men in Parliament —The Ionian Islands — Agitation in 
Greece — Parliamentary Reform— Foreign Relations of England — Mr. 
Bright's Return to Parliament — A Man Ahead of His Time — Controversy 
Over the Reform Bill — Mr. Gladstone's Speech on the Pending Question— 
Defeat of the Ministry — Appeal to the Country — Palmersu n in Office — 
Fear of Invasion by France — Tax on Paper — Proceedings in the House of 
Lords — Liberals and Tories — Lord Russell Withdraws His Reform Bill — 
Cross Purposes in Parliament — Rivalry Among Opposing Factions. 

'HE Ministry which came into power at the beginning of 
the year 1858, was, from a literary point of view, a re- 
markable one 5 and one which would be almost if not quite 
impossible in America, where the necessity of achieving 
name and place by his 



own exertions renders it 
less likely that a man 
can succeed in many di- 
rections. The Earl of 
Derby may become emin- 
ent in literature and poli- 
tics with less exertion 
than is required for an 
Abraham Lincoln to gain 
admittance to the bar; it 
is for this reason that 
we find so many English 
statesmen and so few 
Americans excelling in 
other things than state- 
craft. It is true that all 
scholarly British states- 
men do not reach the em- Lord Macaulay. 
inence in letters of Macaulay, who died about the period we 
have now reached in this history. But, on the other hand, Ma- 

179 




180 The Palmerston Ministry. 

caulay, who figures with some prominence in the early stages of 
this narrative, in order to become great as an historian and es- 
sayist, was obliged to retire almost entirely from the strife for 
political honors. 

At the head of the Government at this date was that brilliant, 
impulsive speaker, whose words were sometimes fiery eloquence, 
and sometimes grandiloquent nonsense j who was often carried 
away by the passions which, subdued, he might have used as ef- 
ficient weapons against the evils of the cause which had aroused 
them; whose blunders often lost the victories which his head- 
long daring had almost won, so that Disraeli, his brilliant sub- 
ordinate had already christened him "The Rupert of Debate," 
after the fiery Stuart j he was long eminent as a statesman, first 
as Lord Stanley, afterward becoming Earl of Derby, but had not 
at this time become known as a translator of the Iliad, which 
will more surely perpetuate his name and fame than any repu- 
tation which he ever acquired within the walls of Parliament. 

That chief subordinate, and the leader of the House of Com- 
mons, was better known and more highly esteemed as a novelist 
than when he first entered Parliament; his reputation as a wri- 
ter, indeed, grew with his rank as a statesman, and the novels 
which had been looked upon as the mere ebullitions of an ec- 
centricity which he himself mistook for genius, were now rank- 
ed as the productions of a new school of fiction. The Eight 
Honorable Benjamin Disraeli, Chancellor of the Exchequer and 
Leader of the House of Commons, was quite a different person- 
age from that loud-looking youth whose first speech had so en- 
tertained the Commons, 

Aside from Lord John Manners, who was in control of the 
Woods and Forests, and Lord Stanley, who became, on the death 
of his father, the fifteenth Earl of Derby, and attained some 
eminence in the arena of politics, there is but one other name 
in the list that is familiar to our ears ; and he is less known to 
us in the world of politics than in the world of letters. Edward 
Lytton-Bulwer, born the same year as Disraeli, and consequent- 
ly beween four and five years older than Gladstone, had enter- 
ed Parliament when barely twenty-one. It would have been 
lo^g before he achieved eminence as an orator, for the few 
speeches which he made in the course of his parliamentary ca- 
reer were rather thoughtful and earnest, evincing a large and 
liberal view of national interests, than brilliant and "taking." 



The Palmerston Ministry. 181 

He began life as an extreme advocate of Reform, measures ; and 
he was scarcely thirty when he published one of the most pow- 
erful political pamphlets of the century ; a form of support 
which was so grateful to Lord Melbourne that the author was 
at once offered a seat in the Cabinet. This, however, he de- 
clined; but accepted the baronetcy which in 1838 was conferred 
for that and similar services to the party then in power. Suc- 
ceeding in 1844 to the estates of his mother's family, he assumed 
her name in connection with that of his father, and became Sir 
Edward Bulwer-Lytton. About the time that Gladstone finally 
left the Conservative party (if that expression can be used as in- 
dicating any definite period), Bulwer-Lytton took the opposite 
step, and left the Liberals for the Conservatives. He had not 
been in the Derby administration as it was originally formed ; 
but when Lord Ellenborough resigned the control of Indian 
affairs, Lord Stanley, who had been Colonial Secretary, was 
transferred to this position, and the brilliant novelist appointed 
to the place thus vacated. Perhaps it was natural that when 
the necessity arose for sending a special envoy to Greece, a man 
like Bulwer-Lytton should think of a representative who had 
already distinguished himself in literature by his studies of 
Homer; and the Premier who was afterward to be known as 
the translator of the Iliad would be likely to see a fitness in the 
selection. The comments upon this appointment were not alto- 
gether favorable. "A writer of novels is leader of the House 
of Commons," said the scandalized politicians who did not pre- 
tend to scholarship ; "and he has another writer of novels at his 
side as Colonial Secretary; worse than that, he is actually a 
playwright; and between them they can think of nothing bet- 
ter than to send out a man to the Ionian Islands to listen to the 
tirades of Greek demagogues simply because he happens to be 
fond of reading Homer." 

This reader of the blind old bard was Mr. Gladstone, who had 
already become well known as a scholar in this special depart- 
ment ; we have not hitherto traced his literary course, reserving 
that for another time, when our pages shall be free from the 
rush and whirl of political action. 

The Ionian Islands had been erected in the year 1800 into the 
Eepublic of the Seven United Islands ; in 1815, they were placed 
under the Protectorate of Great Britain; a few years later had 
come the assertion of the independence of Greece, finally ac- 



182 



The Patmerston Ministry. 



knowledged by the Powers, and forced upon Turkey. For many 
years after the achievement of this condition, the Ionians had 
looked longingly upon the country to which they naturally be- 
longed by race, tradition and geographical position ; but they 
had no cause for formal complaint, and were not strong enough 
to assert themselves by force. They could only await the action 
of England. 

That the sympathy of England was on the side of popular liberty 
was well understood and needed no formal proof. A weak power, 




Lord John Manners. 

or a feeble people struggling to be free, can always depend upon 
the active support of the masses of the people everywhere. For 
years the Ionians had been dissatisfied and earnestly striving to 
better their condition. 

The popular constitution which had been given them about 
ten years before this time did not do away with this desire 
to be united to Greece; it only enabled the people to express 
their wish in a manner which would command more attention 
in England, because it was intensely respectable; the protest 
of a legislature is or may be worth listening to, while the 
wish of the people expressed by themselves directly, is not 



The Palmerston Ministry. 183 

to be regarded, lest it lead to revolution. And now press, leg- 
islature and people had but one voice, and with that were cry- 
ing out for freedom. 

Were they not free? asked the British Government. They 
had a constitution which guaranteed their rights, as the English 
had theirs; they had their Legislative Assembly of forty mem- 
bers, and a Senate of a round half dozen. "What if they were 
presided over by an English Lord High Commissioner? His 
position was but an emblem of the watchful care which England 
kept over them. But the unreasonable Greeks were not satis- 
fied. All this was very true : they had a constitution and a rep- 
resentative government, and the English authorities had made 
excellent roads, imj^roved the harbors, established regular com- 
munication by steamships with the rest of the world — far great- 
er conveniences than King Otho's subjects had; but still these 
unreasonable Greeks did not think themselves free so long as 
this Lord High Commissioner was also Commander-in-Chief of 
a considerable body of British troops garrisoned among them. 
And though they had a representative assembly, the Lord High 
Commissioner aforesaid had a very ugly trick of dissolving it 
whenever it declined to legislate as he wished it to do. Taking 
it all in all, they did not quite believe the Englishmen who said 
that the Ionian Islands enjoyed the blessings of liberty. 

The more loudly an Ionian politician exclaimed against this 
order of things, the more pleasing he was to the people; and 
the more the people clamored for freedom, the angrier grew the 
English public at such ingratitude. There were but few men 
in public life in England who were not thoroughly disgusted 
with the unreasonable Greeks ; and this feeling was shared by 
some eminent Frenchmen; notably by M. Edmond About, 
whose description of the excellent roads in these islands is so 
earnest that we may almost imagine that he wrote with tears in 
his eyes. Others there were, of broader sympathies, who saw 
how far the Greeks were right; and of this number were the 
Colonial Secretary and his newly chosen envoy. 

Although Mr. Gladstone was simply dispatched upon a com- 
mission of inquiry, his appointment for that purpose was hailed 
by the Greeks as clear evidence that the English Government 
intended to abandon its Protectorate over the Islands. The En- 
glish Government had no such intention; at least, it was not def- 
initely understood what would he best; but just at this time two 



184 The Palmerston Ministry. 

dispatches were published by the News which ought to have been 
kept private until acted upon, but which some enterprising re- 
porter had got hold of. They were written by the Lord High 
Commissioner, and recommended that all the islands except 
Corfu should be abandoned to their own will. This excepted 
island was to be retained as a military post. A dispatch written 
by the Colonial Secretary about the same time seemed to point 
the same way, and Mr. Gladstone was received with all the effu- 
siveness of welcome of which the people of a Southern race 
can show themselves possessed. He at once set to work to as- 
certain how far the clamor for separation from England and an- 
nexation to Greece was the voice of the people, and how far it 
was simply the loud-mouthed vociferations of blatant dema- 
gogues. He seems to have been speedily convinced that this 
popular movement was one worthy the respect of all liberty -lov- 
ing men. After a number of weeks spent in the Islands, the 
matter was formally presented to the Ionian Parliament, in the 
form of a proposal to annex their republic to the kingdom of 
Greece. This obtained the assent of the representatives, and a 
petition to that effect was presented to Mr. Gladstone. In in- 
forming the English sovereign of the result of his mission, he 
stated that "the single and unanimous will of the Ionian people 
has been and is for their union with the kingdom of Greece." 
This short dispatch tells the whole story of his embassy and the 
accomplishment of the task set him. A couple of weeks after- 
ward, he left for England 3 his official connection with the Ionian 
Islands was at an end. 

Not so the influence which he had over their fortunes. The 
hopes which had been raised by his appointment were not to be 
readily dampened by his return ; the Greeks continued to agi- 
tate more strenuously than ever, and they were listened to with 
more respect at the Colonial Office and in Parliament, since so 
eminent an Englishman had become impressed with the justice 
of their claims. It was some years before the final result of 
this mission was achieved; but when the Ionian Islands at last 
became a part of the kingdom of Greece, it was in no small 
measure due to the influence which Mr. Gladstone's opinion had 
upon the councils of his country. 

Mr. Gladstone returned to England in February, 1859. The 
Derby Ministry had been in office scarcely a year. It was al- 
ready beginning to show signs of weakness, of that inevitable 



The Palmerston Ministry. 



185 



loss of power which sooner or later comes to every Govern- 
ment. 

There were two important questions before the public mind at 
this juncture : Parliamentary Reform and the state of the foreign 
relations of England. The measure which had excited such en- 
mity in the early thirties had become an insufficient measure for 




Mr. Speaker. 

the progressive champions of the people's rights ; and a further 
extension of the suffrage was loudly demanded. Unable to 
struggle against the unmistakable expression of the popular will, 
tae Government had pledged itself to bring in a Eeform Bill; 
but this had rather excited than allayed the popular feeling. 



186 The Palmer ston Ministry. 

It was hardly a time at which to bring up such a measure ; 
for all Europe was trembling at the innovations which were be- 
ing introduced, and a country like England would seem to have 
desired rather a continuance of the old state of things at this 
period of revolution. Under the auspices of Cavour, who had 
spent some time in England, and was a warm admirer of the En- 
glish system of Government, the petty state of which he was a 
subject had been modeled after the great empire, and Sardinia 
had, in consequence, attained a rank as a constitutional mon- 
archy for which she would otherwise have striven in vain. This 
country had first been heard of in European politics, as a state 
which was at all worthy of consideration, during the Crimean 
War, when it became the ally of England and France. Savoy 
had grown into Sardinia, Sardinia was soon to grow into Italy. 

It is not probable that the Premier had any decided wish for 
Parliamentary Eeform. He had thrown himself, heart and soul, 
into the work when the subject was first brought to the serious 
attention of Parliament; but that had been nearly thirty years 
before this time, and age was beginning to cool the ardor of his 
nature. The chief advocate of a further extension of the suf- 
frage had been Lord John Eussell, who had brought forward such 
a bill in 1852, and supported it with all his powers only to have 
it fail. Disraeli was now eager for Eeform, because he saw clear- 
ly enough that it was the only means by which the Conserva- 
tives could hope to retain power; the instant the Government 
should venture to oppose or disregard the popular wish, that in- 
stant their divided opponents would unite, and the union would 
be fatal to the foes of Eeform. 

But chief among those who advocated the passage of such a 
measure was that sturdy Quaker whose earnestness in the cause 
of the people has grown stronger and stronger as the years have 
gone by. John Bright had been out of Parliament for several 
years, on account of ill health, when in 1857 he was returned for 
Birmingham. In the first period of his parliamentary life, he 
had been one of the most ardent supporters of the Free Trade 
system; and he was perhaps the most widely known advocate 
of it; certainly there was no one else who permitted himself to 
be so completely absorbed by this measure. He was one of the 
delegates sent by the Society of Friends to the Czar, at the be- 
ginning of the Crimean War, to intercede for peace. This had 
been his last public act in this first period. His return to Parlia- 



The Palmerston Ministry. 187 

ment was signalized by his opposition to the Conspiracy Bill, 
which was the cause of Lord Palmerston's going out of office; 
he now threw himself with all his strength into this effort to se- 
cure a more universal suffrage, and never relaxed his endeavors 
until the attainment of that object, nearly twenty years after 
Lord Derby went out of office. 

Bright' s return to public life seemed almost like a resurrec- 
tion, so fully had people been convinced that he would be heard 
no more. It was small wonder, then, that his audiences should 
be large and enthusiastic. His efforts were not wholly successful; 
though the popular outcry was loud, it was not universal; try- 
ing to arouse a Eeform spirit in the North, Bright himself said, 
was " like flogging a dead horse." The upper and middle class- 
es cared very little about the question, for their rights had been 
assured by the measure of 1832; it was mainly the laboring 
classes who were now dissatisfied ; and many of the Conserva- 
tives were inclined to treat the demand as the mere outcry of 
professional agitators. Bright himself was generally regarded 
by parliamentarians as only an eloquent and respectable dema- 
gogue; and most of the Conservatives, and some of the Whigs, 
were inclined to look upon him as scarcely worthy of being ta- 
ken into account. Perhaps the Conservative who had the high- 
est opinion of him was no other than Mr. Disraeli, who saw that 
the Manchester orator must be taken into account as a genuine 
political power. 

Mr. Bright was persuaded to formulate a bill, expressing his 
ideas on this momentous question of public policy ; but as might 
have been expected, his views were not those of the Ministry. 
His enemies said it was such a measure as Jack Cade might have 
proposed, had that ancient agitator ever got so far as the subject 
of Parliamentary Eeform; he had so few friends, as far as this 
bill was concerned, that it did not make much matter what they 
said. Certainly the bill had but few supporters, though it was 
so nearly like that which the party adopted later that we can 
only rate Bright as far ahead of his time. 

Disraeli, who saw that he could not resist the tendency in that 
direction, had been studying the question of Eeform, and was 
ready with a bill at the beginning of the session of 1859. It was 
essentially a Conservative measure, since it left things very near- 
ly as it found them. The great need of the time was a law which 
would not only increase the number of voters, but would extend 



188 The Palmerston Ministry. 

the franchise to classes which were as yet without representation', 
but Disraeli's plan did not aim at this. It was said by one of the 
opposite party that it looked like a bill framed to increase the 
Conservative majority; and that was doubtless its intention. 
The chief change which was made was the extension of the fran- 
chise to persons who had property in the funds, bank stock, or 
stock in the East India Company, also to those who had a cer- 
tain amount of money in savings-banks or received a pension 
from the Government, and to certain professional classes which 
had not hitherto been permitted a vote. " The working-classes 
cried out for the franchise, and Mr. Disraeli proposed to answer 
the cry by giving the vote to graduates of universities, medical 
practitioners and schoolmasters." 

The bill passed the first reading by a party vote, procured by 
the unflagging efforts of the Whigs. But the bill was not a fav- 
orite with the Conservative party itself. The Home Secretary 
urged that no member of the Ministry would support such a bill, 
were it brought forward by Lord John Russell or Lord Palmer- 
ston ; and he urged this in a letter in which he conveyed his res- 
ignation to the Premier. Mr. Henley, the President of the 
Board of Trade, followed the example of Mr. Walpole. When 
the bill which had thus won the contempt of its proposer's party 
friends came up for a second reading, it met with hard treatment 
at the hands of his foes. Lord John Russell moved an amend- 
ment to the effect that the proposed readjustment of the county 
franchise was unsatisfactory to the House, and that any bill 
which attempted to deal with this question ought to include a 
plan for the greater extension of the suffrage in cities and bor- 
roughs. The experienced statesman supported this amendment 
with an able speech, expressing in touching language his long- 
continued efforts for Parliamentary Reform; and the debate be- 
came animated. 

Mr. Bright and his immediate adherents of course opposed the 
measure of the Ministiy, as it was very far from their ideas of 
what such a bill should be. More moderate Liberals thought it 
could be so modified in Committee as to meet the requirements 
of the time. Mr. Gladstone, who, in the division which followed, 
voted against the amendment, found it necessary to explain his 
course in a somewhat lengthy speech, an abstract of which will 
state the objections to this bill, and also the difficulties ensuing 
from its rejection, more clearly than is otherwise possible. 



The Palmerston Ministry. 189 

As there was no controversy traceable to differences between 
political parties, but a remarkable unanimity on all sides with 
^egard to the necessity for Reform, he regretted that the House 
was now in debate which would estrange those whose united ef- 
forts were necessery to a satisfactory settlement. He objected 
to the form of the resolution, and only the weakness of the Gov- 
ernment could induce him to vote for it. Like all others of the 
time, he saw grave evils arising from a change at this juncture; 
and the Liberals especially had cause to fear such a change, for 
they would be called to power, and that would only emphasize 
the divisions in that party. Mr. Gladstone was now identified 
with the Liberals, the name Peelite having gone almost com- 
pletely out of use. He next proceeded to sketch the history of 
Reform as his own recollection afforded him the materials : 

"In 1851 my noble friend [Lord J. Russell], then the First 
Minister of the Crown, approached the question of Reform, and 
commenced with a promise of what was to be done twelve 
months afterward. In 1852 he brought in a bill, and it disap- 
peared, together with the Ministry. In 1853 we had the Ministry 
of Lord Aberdeen, which commenced with a promise of Reform 
in twelve months' time. Well, 1854 arrived; with it arrived the 
bill, but with it also arrived the war, and in the war was a rea- 
son, and I believe a good reason, for abandoning the bill. Then 
came the Government of my noble friend the member for Tiver- 
ton [Palmerston] which was not less unfortunate in the circum- 
stances which prevented the redemption of those pledges which 
had been given to the people from the mouth of the Sovereign 
on the throne. In 1855 my noble friend escaped all responsibil- 
ity for a Reform Bill on account of the war; in 1856 he escaped 
all responsibility for Reform on account of the peace ; in 1857 
he escaped that inconvenient responsibility by the dissolution of 
Parliament; and in 1858 he escaped again by the dissolution of 
his Government." 

Frequently interrupted by the cheers and laughter of the House 
while thus summing up the history of Reform during the past 
seven or eight years, the speaker proceeded to point the moral 
of this "ower true tale." The people had come to think that the 
House was only too willing to oppose this question; and this 
had made it hazardous to oppose the bill. He did not advocate 
the passage of the bill, however, as it stood, but urged strongly 
the reduction of the qualification, and declared that the small 



190 The Palmer ston Ministry. 

boroughs deserved more consideration. They were the nursery- 
ground of men who were destined to lead the House and be an 
ornament to their country, he said ; and he maintained that the 
extension and durability of English liberty were to be attributed, 
under Providence, to distinguished statesmen introduced into 
the House at an early age. Upon all these grounds he urged 
the House to go into committee, thus to discuss the bill more 
freely, and to make such alterations as might be necessary. 

It should be remembered that the rules of the House of Com- 
mons preclude any member from speaking twice on the same 
subject ; but if the House go into committee, the Speaker leaving 
the chair, this restriction is removed and a freer discussion 
thereby made possible. 

The division was taken shortly after the conclusion of Mr. 
Gladstone's speech. Though the House of Commons consisted 
of six hundred and fifty-eight members, it is rare that over five 
hundred take part in a division ; and the House frequently ad- 
journs for lack of the necessary quorum of forty. On this occa- 
sion, however, there were present the almost unprecedented num- 
ber of six hundred and twentj^-one members; and by this pro- 
portion of the House was the momentous question decided. 

The division was taken, and showed that the Opposition had a 
majority of thirty-nine. This was a surprise to the members of 
the Government, and indeed to the Liberals ; for the whole ques- 
tion was so open, and party lines so confused, that the wisest old 
politician in the House could hardly have foretold the result with 
certainty. 

Lord Derby decided to appeal to the country; a step which 
occasioned much inconvenience, said John Bright, but was con- 
stitutional and perhaps necessary. Parliament was prorogued 
April 19th, and dissolved the next day. Writs were now is- 
sued for a new election, returnable at once ; and the new Parlia- 
ment met May 31st. In this assembly, Mr. Gladstone again sat 
for the University of Oxford. The Government was in a con- 
siderable minority in the new House, and the effects of this stato 
of affairs were felt at once. A week had been spent in sweating 
in new members, so that it was not until the 7th of June that 
Her Majesty opened Parliament in person, it having been opened 
by commission upon first assembling. The first business was the 
preparation of an address to the Queen ; the regular routine at 
the beginning of the session ; and to this address, as moved in 



The Palmerston Ministry. 



191 



the House of Commons, the Marquis of Hartington offered an 
amendment. This was equivalent to proposing a vote of want of 
confidence, and the result was eagerly looked for. The debate 
lasted three nights, and terminated with a division which showed 
a majority of nineteen against the Ministry. Having been twice 
defeated in the House, there was no option but for them to re- 
sign ; and resign they did. 




Lord Palmerston. 

The Liberal party, to whom the power had thus fallen, was 
divided against itself; Lord John Russell headed one portion, 
while Lord Palmerston was the chief of the other. A coolness 
had existed between these two for some time, though it was said 
that at the date of Lord Derby's resignation they had been re- 
conciled, and would act together. But it was at least doubtfui 
how long Eussell would endure Palmerston as his chief, and more 
than doubtful whether Palmerston would consent to act under 
Russell. In this dilemma, the Queen sent for Lord Granville, 



192 The Palmerston Ministry. 

who was the confessed leader of the Liberal Party in the House 
of Lords ; and gave him her command to form a Ministry. 

Contrary to precedent, a portion of the interview in which 
this arrangement was made was published in the Times; and it is 
from this article that we learn the reasons for this choice, as well 
as the Queen's fear of offending either of these eminent states- 
men by nominating the other to the highest honor in her gift. 
The publication of this account was regarded by some of the 
stricter politicians of the old school as the sign of a general 
breaking up of all the boundaries of decency and respect for 
royalty ; but was easily and naturally explained by Lord Gran- 
ville, who had obtained permission to state to his political friends 
what had occurred, and the interview had thus indirectly got 
around to the newspaper. 

But the Queen did not understand her ex-ministers as well as 
she thought. For some reason, which is not clearly explained, 
Lord John Russell declined to serve under Lord Granville, but 
professed his readiness to accept office in a Palmerston Govern- 
ment. Under such circumstances, Lord Granville having con- 
fessed that he would not form a Cabinet, the post was offered to 
Lord Palmerston. 

Three of the important offices in this Ministry were filled by 
the same men who had occupied those posts in the first Palmer- 
ston administration ; of these, we are most interested in the per- 
formance of the duties of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, 
which Mr. Gladstone was again called upon to perform. Regard- 
ing this appointment, Molesworth, whose "History of England 
from the Year 1830," John Bright commends as " honestly writ- 
ten," uses the following language : 

"Another gentleman whose accession to the Ministry gave it 
great strength and stability, and whose presence in it was per- 
haps necessary to its existence, certainly to its permanence, was 
Mr. Gladstone. He had to face a strong contest for his seat for 
the University of Oxford ; but his friends succeeded, though not 
without difficulty, in obtaining his re-election, notwithstanding 
the opposition of many members of the university who had for- 
merly given him their support, but who were becoming intoler- 
ant of the more and more pronounced liberality of his views, 
and whose anger and suspicions were further roused by his ac- 
ceptance of office in the Palmerston administration." 

Although Mr. Gladstone had at such length explained that his 



The Palmerston Ministry. 193 

vote for Mr. Disraeli's Eeform Bill was merely given because he 
feared the results of a change of Government, and was not an 
indorsement either of the measure itself, or of the general course 
of the Ministry which had framed it, his opponent in this elec- 
tion was not slow to accuse him of tergiversation in accepting 
office immediately in the Ministry formed by Lord Derby's op- 
ponent and successor. This charge was best answered by a plain 
unvarnished statement of the facts in the case, and quotations 
from Mr. Gladstone's speech on that occasion ; and seems to have 
been lightly thought of by the electors ; for the vote of 859 for 
Lord Chandos against 1050 for Mr. Gladstone is not a large one, 
when we consider how deeply Mr. Gladstone's liberalistic ten- 
dencies had offended many of the electors long before he signal- 
ized those tendencies by his course on the present occasion. 

The Palmerston Ministry had been formed early in June ; the 
nominations at Oxford took place the 27th of the same month, 
and the polling continued for five days. But the new Chancel- 
lor of the Exchequer had his budget ready the 18th of July. His 
speech was given the same flattering reception which had al- 
ways been accorded him, the strict attention which was so rarely 
given to speeches on financial questions. It was a thoroughly 
simple and at the same time a thoroughly honest measure. He 
had to provide for a large addition to the naval and military es- 
tablishments, in consequence of which it was estimated that 
while the revenue for the ensuing year would be £64,340,000, the 
expenditure would be £69,207,000. True to the principle upon 
which he had acted when the war created such an enormous deficit 
in the estimated revenue, Mr. Gladstone did not propose to make 
up this deficiency of nearly five million pounds by a loan, or by 
any of the expedients usually adopted by those Chancellors of 
the Exchequer who are desirous only of delaying the evil. By 
an addition of 4d in the pound to the tax on incomes above £150, 
a penny stamp on bankers' cheques drawn across the counter, 
and by the diminution of the malt credits from eighteen to 
twelve weeks, thus anticipating a portion of the next year's in- 
come, he calculated that the deficit would be met without adding 
to the debt. 

This budget was of course attacked by Mr. Disraeli, who ob- 
jected to the raising of seventy millions annually, and urged 
that it would be better to have some understanding with France, 
so that the expense of maintaining the army might be material- 

*3 



194 The Palmerston Ministry. 

\j reduced. It may here bo noted that a popular movement of 
this year accomplished more in this direction than any speech 
which was made in the House of Commons. The people had been 
considerably alarmed by some intemperate language used by 
certain French officers; there was a regular invasion panic, 
which the Prime Minister is said to have encouraged. The re- 
sult of this was the formation of rifle corps, which, surviving 
the alarm that caused them to be organized, made the reduction 
of the regular army possible, without reducing at the same time 
the available military strength to resist invasion. 

The danger of invasion, as we have hinted, was supposed to 
be from France. Though the two countries had been allies in 
the Crimean War, we can hardly reckon that Napoleon III. was 
ever very popular in England, or ever thoroughly trusted by the 
bulk of the thinking people. His alliance with England against 
Russia counted for nothing, for he had but used one nation as a 
tool with which to wreak his vengeance upon the other; he had 
extorted Nice and Savoy from Sardinia, as the price of the sup- 
port in the war between Italy and Austria which Cavour had 
forced him to give; he had turned against Austria, with which 
he had previously been in firm alliance; and it was doubtful 
which would be the next victim of his rapacity, Prussia or Eng- 
land. So felt the people of the time; though the record of such 
fears reads strangely enough to us who have been told of Sedan 
and Chiselhurst, and of that fierce sortie of Zulu warriors, which 
finally extinguished his line. 

"Napoleon III.," said a clever epigramatist, "deceived Europe 
twice — once in persuading it that he was an idiot; once in induc- 
ing it to believe that he was a statesman." At this time, the im- 
pression obtained that he was a statesman, and had the English 
people but been wise, they might soon have discovered that Nice 
and Savoy were not what he thought they would be to him; that 
the Italians had decidedly the best of the bargain. But they 
were not wise. The most reasonable and harmless actions of the 
French Government were made the ground of suspicion and 
alarm; it even occasioned uneasiness that the Power across the 
channel should push the project of the "impracticable Suez 
Canal." It was under such circumstances as this that a commer- 
cial treaty with France was proposed in the early days of 1860; 
a treaty which had been arranged in a peculiar way; Mr. Cob- 
den, who was looked upon as being much safer and more Con- 



The Palmerston Ministry. 



195 



servative than Mr. Bright, though he was really the more rest- 
less reformer, was sent to France to talk the matter over with 
the Emperor. Napoleon III. never let his dignity stand in the 
way of any real or fancied advantage, and readily agreed to dis- 
cuss the matter thus informally with Mr. Cobden, who had never 
held office under the British Government, though Lord Palmer- 
ston had offered him the Board of Trade in the present Ministry. 
This arrangement was mainly brought about by Mr. Gladstone, 
who most ardently desired the treaty. The great majority of the 
people of France were ardent Protectionists; the Emperor, him- 
self, however, was a Free 
Trader; and if the treaty 
should be concluded, it must 
be by the exertion of his 
imperial will and authority, 
not by any consent of the 
representatives of the peo- 
ple. 

The treaty itself will be 
best summed up in the words 
which Mr. Gladstone used 
in stating its provisions to 
the House of Commons. 
The occasion was the intro- 
duction of the budget in 
February, 1860. 

"Perhaps, sir, as the com- 
mittee have not yet had an 
opportunity of reading the instrument itself, it may be convenient 
that I should in the first place state to them very briefly the princi- 
pal covenants. First, I shall take the engagements of France. 
France engages to reduce the duty on English coal and coke, from 
the 1st of July, 1860 ; on tools and machinery, from the 1st of Dec- 
ember, 1860; and on yarns, and goods in flax and hemp, includ- 
ing, I believe, jute — this last an article comparatively new in 
commerce, but one in which a great and very just interest is felt 
in some great trading districts — from the 1st of June, 1861. That 
is the first important engagement into which France enters. Her 
second and greater engagement is postponed to the 1st of October 
1861. I think it is probably in the knowledge of the committee, 
that this postponement is stipulated under a pledge given by the 




Richard Cobden. 



196 The Palmer ston Ministry. 

Government of France to the classes who there, as here, have 
supposed themselves to he interested in the maintenance of pro- 
hibition. On the 1st of October, then, in the year 1861, France 
engages to reduce the duties and take away the prohibitions on 
all articles of British production mentioned in a certain list, in 
such a manner that no duty upon any one of these articles shall 
exceed thirty per cent, ad valorem. I do not speak of articles of 
food, which do not materially enter into the treaty ; but the list to 
which I refer, sir, includes all the staples of British manufacture, 
whether of yarns, flax, hemp, hair, wool, silk, or cotton; all 
manufactures of skins, leather, bark, wood ; iron and all other 
metals; glass, stoneware, earthenware, or porcelain. I will not 
go through the whole list; it is indeed needless, for I am not 
aware of any great or material article that is omitted. France 
also engages to commute those ad valorem duties into rated duties 
by a separate convention, to be framed for the purpose of giving 
effect to the terms which I have described. But if there should 
be a disagreement as to the terms on which they should be rated 
by the convention, then the maximum chargeable on every class at 
thirty per cent, ad valorem will be levied at the proper period, not 
in the form of a rated duty, but upon the value; and the value 
will be determined by the process now in use in the English cus- 
toms. 

"I come next, sir, to the English covenants. England engages, 
with a limited power of exception, which we propose to exercise 
only with regard to two or three articles, to abolish immediate- 
ly and totally all duties upon all manufactured goods. There 
will be a sweep, summary, entire and absolute, of what are 
known as manufactured goods from the face of the British tariff. 
Further, England engages to reduce the duty on brandy from 15s 
the gallon to the level of the colonial duty ; namely, 8s 2d the gal- 
lon. She engages to reduce immediately the duty on foreign 
wine. In the treaty it is of course French wine which is speci- 
fied ; but it was perfectly understood between France and our- 
selves, that we proceed with regard to the commodities of all 
countries alike. England engages, then, to reduce the duty on 
wine from a rate nearly reaching 5s lOd per gallon, to 3s per gal- 
lon. She engages, beside a present reduction, further to reduce 
that duty from the 1st of April, 1861, to a scale which has refer- 
ence to the strength of the wine measured by the quantity of 
spirit it contains," 



The Palmerston Ministry. 197 

The provisions of the treaty would of course cause a reduction 
in the revenue ; but this was considerably less, Mr. Gladstone 
calculated, than the relief which the measure would give. The 
deficit thus occasioned would be made up, he argued, by the fall- 
ing in of long annuities; and the measure which was designed 
to be a permanent benefit would thus be attended by not even a 
temporary inconvenience. 

But the house was by no means ready to assent to this plan. 
Not only did the Conservatives oppose it, as might have been ex- 
pected, but some of the Liberals were equally bitter in their de- 
nunciations of such a compromise measure. It was a curious fea- 
ture of the debate, that some of the most eminent Free Traders 
in the House, including Gladstone, Bright and Cobden, were ac- 
cused of renouncing their principles in favor of a measure of 
Protection; and by urging the conclusion of a treaty which 
could only be carried out on the other side by the will of the 
Emperor, opposed to the sentiments of his people, they were ob- 
liged to defend themselves from a charge of rejecting the prin- 
ciples of representative government. Such a charge, applied to 
Gladstone, is only less ridiculous than a similar one having 
Bright for its object. 

The Government did not attempt to deny that this was a com- 
promise measure ; but it was the best that could be done ; and as 
such it was presented to the House. When the budget had been 
fully presented, the Opposition armed itself for the fight. The 
battle was opened by a shot from Mr. Disraeli, who offered an 
amendment affirming that the House was not ready to go into 
committee upon the Customs act until it should have considered 
and assented to the provisions of the treaty. The right honor- 
orable gentleman attacked the treaty, attacked the Government, 
attacked Mr. Cobden, with all the warmth which was character- 
istic of his speeches on such occasions. He cited the example of 
Pitt in 1786; and doubtless considered his shot a telling one. But 
it had missed its mark ; and the return fire was one which rat- 
tled long about his ears and those of his confederates. 

Of the speech in which Mr. Gladstone answered this attack of 
the ex-chancellor, a contemporary newspaper said : " The Chan- 
cellor of the Exchequer has won his Magenta gallantly, and 
with extraordinary damage to the enemy. The battle has been re- 
newed, and is raging while we write, but the Opposition army is 
dispirited and charges languidly, and all seems tending toward 



198 



TJic Maimer ston Ministry. 



a ministerial Solferino. Mr. Gladstone distinguished himself in 
the first engagement by a feat of arms of the most brilliant cnar- 
acter, and none of his own Homeric heroes could have more ter- 
ribly poured in thunder on the foe. Dropping martial meta- 
phor, it may be said that the best debater in the House of Com- 
mons delivered, in answer to Mr. Disraeli — no unworthy antag- 
onist — a speech in which the lucidity of the argument was worthy 
of the powerful declamation of the orator. From the outset he 




Hon. John Bright. 

showed his masterly grasp of the subject and an ability quite as 
conspicuous as if he had made this one question the great study of 
his life. With perfect ease and self-possession he rose to the occa- 
sion, pointed out clearly the salient features of Parliamentary 
action, and indicated the far reaching effects of the principles under 
consideration. He showed his familiarity with minute detads, 
gaining at once the attentive ear of his auditors. In all these 
respects he showed his mental superiority. When Mr. Glad- 
stone addresses b^self in his best manner to his work, as he did 



The Palmerston Ministry. 199 

upon the occasion in question, the House of Commons is justly 
proud of its illustrious member. Sometimes, like Burke, 

"He goes on refining, 
And thinks of convincing, while they think of dining," 

(or rather of dividing, for he seldom throws himself away upon 
the Impransi); but there was no such waste of thought upon this 
occasion, when he closed with his adversary like a man who 
meant mischief — and he did it. Mr. Disraeli knows best wheth- 
er it was wise to get his forces so exceedingly well beaten at the 
beginning of the financial campaign ; but that is his affair and 
Prince Kupert's." 

The House divided upon the amendment which was thus ably 
argued against, and the Government found itself in a majority 
of sixty-three. An amendment to the budget brought forward 
by a minor member of the Opposition was less fortunate than 
Mr. Disraeli's had proved, for this condemnation of the propo- 
sition to re-impose the income tax, though only for a brief per- 
iod, was defeated by more than one hundred. 

There was another important feature of the budget; the pro- 
posed abolition of the tax on paper. When we consider the dif- 
ficulties with which newspapers, those principal consumers of pa- 
per, have had to contend, we should be astonished, not at the 
faults that they show, but that they exist. It is true that the 
great newspaper is a power in the community, no less in conser- 
vative England than in the United States, which sometimes ap- 
pears to be as fond of novelties as ever were the Athenians; but 
the English newspapers of the beginning of this century pro- 
ceeded upon a mistaken course; they encouraged the tax which 
tended to raise the price of their publications, in the belief that 
their profits would be diminished if they lost the practical mo- 
nopoly ; the ostensible reason for their opposition being that 
cheap journalism would necessarily be nasty. Originally im- 
posed with the idea of checking the establishment of seditious 
newspapers, the duty in 1836 was a penny upon each copy. Add- 
ed to this, there was a sixpence tax on each advertisement; be- 
sides this there was a considerable tax upon the white paper, 
represented by a duty imposed for the benefit of the manufac- 
turer. The tax on advertisements was abolished ; in 1855 the 
penny duty upon each copy was no longer exacted ; it remained 
for Mr. Gladstone to take the final step in promoting the inter- 
ests of the million readers, by recommending the abolition of 



200 The Palmerston Ministry. 

this protective duty. Of course there was opposition from the 
manufacturers and their representatives in Parliament ; for the 
British Parliament differs from the American Congress in this, 
that most of the great interests of the country have their ac- 
knowledged representatives. There are others, as there must be 
in every representative assembly, who care but little about such 
things, but are ready enough to vote for a certain measure to 
oblige a friend. There was a good deal of rallying up of such 
men to sustain the cause of the paper-making and journal-selling 
monopoly. The result was that although the propositions of 
the Government were finally carried, they were carried by con- 
stantly decreasing majorities. In place of votes which ran a 
hundred or so ahead of the numbers on the opposite side, as the 
other portions of the same plan had received, the resolutions 
to abolish the excise on paper were won, on the second reading, 
by fifty-three ; on the third, by only nine. 

The bill which had met with this obstinate resistance in the 
Commons was not more fortunate in the Lords. It was fought 
with persistent argument ; Lord Lyndhurst, who had been per- 
haps the most powerful supporter of the Conservative party in 
his day, and the most able and distinguished member of the Peel 
Ministry of 1834, as well as of the later Cabinets formed by Con- 
servative Premiers, was especially vigorous in his opposition to 
it. All the force of that brilliant and powerful oratory which 
had secured his advancement a half-century before, was employ- 
ed by the old man, now nearly eighty-nine years old, to defeat 
this plan which was so distasteful to the hereditary legislators. 

While the question was still being debated in the House of 
Lords, where Lord Monteagle had given notice of a hostile mo- 
tion, and Lord Derby had announced his intention of supporting 
it, although he admitted that he thought, if the income could 
stand it, the tax ought to be abolished, the members of the House 
of Commons were protesting indignantly against this usurpation 
of their privileges. Like our own House of Eepresentatives, the 
Commons alone can originate bills relating to revenue ; and this 
effort of the Lords to prevent the abolition of a tax against 
which the Commons had decided, was looked upon as equivalent 
to imposing a new tax. Perhaps the Lords would not have ven- 
tured uponthis course, had the majoritiesintheHouseof Commons 
been greater; certainly they only hold what power they have on 
condition of never using it, and their attitude of independence 



The Palmerston Ministry. 



201 



upon this occasion was looked upon as subversive of all repres- 
entative government. Public meetings were held, to protest 
against their usurpation of power, which Mr. Gladstone de- 
nounced as a " gigantic innovation." At these meetings, John 
Bright and his immediate adherents were of course the leading 
spirits, but there were others who did not always act with them, 




Lord Lyndhurst. 

who were now only too willing to be at their side. It was said 
at the time that the Chancellor of the Exchequer showed himself 
the worst Radical of them all; quite " out-Heroded Herod" in 
his assertions of the rights of the people. 

The Lords kept on in the course which they had marked out 
for themseves, quite regardless of the popular agitation. The 
debate finally ended; not without some strange and apparently 



202 The Palmerston Ministry. 

irreconcilable assertions from Lord Derby, the acknowledged 
head of the Conservative party; he would support the abolition 
of the tax, if he thought that the revenue could stand it, he said 
again; forgetting that the recognized authority, the Chancellor 
of the Exchequer, who was in possession of data which others 
could not readily obtain, and who was besides his official advan- 
tages gifted as few financiers have been, had announced it as his 
deliberate opinion that the revenue could stand it; he further 
acknowledged, to a deputation which waited upon him, com- 
posed of many eminent men who represented literature and jour- 
nalism, that the House of Lords had no right to modify a tax in 
the slightest degree. This last acknowledgment, however, was 
not to be obtained from Lyndhurst, who had been Lord Chan- 
cellor during three administrations, and the clearness of whose 
judgments had never been excelled; the "old man eloquent" 
continued to maintain the privileges of that order to which his 
legal acumen had caused his admission. 

Others there were of less note to speak on the same side ; and 
we do not hear of any strong speech in support of the Govern- 
ment in the Upper House. This branch of the national legisla- 
ture is always largely Conservative, if anything like its full 
strength be brought out; and upon this division there were no 
fewer than two hundred and ninety-seven votes cast, or more 
than three-fourths of the whole number of peers, including those 
who, not being of age, were not entitled to a voice in the pro- 
ceedings. Of these votes, one hundred and ninety-three were 
against the Government, which was thus left in a minority of 
eighty-nine in the Upper House. 

The story goes, that Lord Palmerston was asked what he in- 
tended to do about it ; with the almost American habit of joking 
which characterized so many of his utterances, he replied : " 1 
mean to tell them that it was a very good joke for once, but they 
must not give it to us again." Whether the Premier actually gave 
this reply or not, is a question which is not answered by any 
competent authority ; but it was quite in his line to have spoken 
so to any one who made such an inquiry; and this very policy 
was the one which he actually pursued. Immediately upon the 
reassembling of Parliament, after the recess, Lord Palmerston 
brought forward a series of resolutions affirming that the Com- 
mons alone possessed the power of re-imposing taxes, and say- 
ing, in effect, that the Lords had better not try it again, 



The Palmerston Ministry. 203 

Mr. Gladstone had done it all, said the Conservatives, who 
were not far wrong. The whole question is of little importance 
at this da} 7 , save as it bears directly upon our subject j the Lords 
had had their lesson, and neither in the next session, when the 
same measure was again proposed, nor since that time, under 
similar circumstances, have they ventured to resist the abolition 
of a tax which the House of Commons has decided shall be im- 
posed no longer. The main interest is that attaching to Mr. 
Gladstone in this question ; not as showing what eminence he had 
attained, or what influence he possessed, for that is a thing which 
the veriest tyro in English history can tell us, but as evidencing 
the progress which he had made in liberalism of opinion and 
feeling. He had even outrun some of his later Whig colleagues. 
The position which he took in this controversy was entirely dif- 
ferent from that assumed by Lord Palmerston. He condemned 
without reserve or mitigation the conduct of the Lords, and 
the grounds on which he based this decision made it allthe more 
welcome to the Radicals. He did not indeed support the course 
of extreme self-assertion which some Radical members recom- 
mended to the House of Commons; but he made it clear that he 
disclaimed such measures only because he felt that the House of 
Lords would soon come to its senses again, and would refrain 
from similar acts of unconstitutional interference in the future. 
Hitherto he had been Liberal in feeling and opinion, but this 
was hardly patent to himself, so gradually had the change been 
wrought, and so faint were the lines between the moderate Lib- 
erals and the moderate Conservatives ; much less was it apparent 
to others. The first decisive intimation of the course which he was 
henceforward to tread was his declaration that the constitution- 
al privileges of the representative assembly were not safe in the 
hands of the Conservative Opposition. Mr. Gladstone was dis- 
tinctly regarded during that debate as the advocate of a policy 
far more energetic than that supported by Lord Palmerston. 
The promoters of the meetings which had been held to protest 
against the interference of the Lords found full warrant for the 
course they had taken in Mr. Gladstone's arguments. Lord 
Palmerston, on the other hand, certainly suffered somewhat in 
the eyes of these stern and uncompromising upholders of the 
rights of the Commons. It was urged that he who was ready 
enough to sanction Radical movements on the continent was far 
less tolerant of them at home. But whatever the reasons upon 



204 The Palmerston Ministry. 

which the two men based their disapproval, theirs, added to that 
which was heard on every side, was quite sufficient to frighten 
the Lords, who did not try their little joke again, even when the 
same measure was again sent up by the Commons. 

There remains one other important measure introduced dur- 
ing the session of 1860, to be noted in this connection. The 
Derby Ministry had gone out of office because of their failure to 
carry a Reform Bill. Lord John Russell, whose efforts in this 
direction had been made the subject of Mr. Gladstone's kindly 
ridicule in the previous session, was naturally the one most inter- 
ested in the measure, and he was the Minister to whom the work 
was intrusted. The bill was brought in March 1st, and read for the 
second time on the 19th of the same month. The debate lasted, 
at intervals, until the 11th of June. A measure which thus hangs 
on cannot be said to be a popular one with the House ; nor was 
this. The bill as it was proposed was rather more offensive to the 
conservative Liberals than to the Tories themselves ; and of 
this division of the party in power the Premier was the head. 
Lord John Russell was the chief of the more popular section, 
and his Reform Bill, which was a moderate and simple scheme 
enough, was called The People's Bill. Palmerston was all but 
openly opposed to this darling measure of his colleague, how- 
ever ; and although he was usually a regular attendant upon the 
sessions of the House, he managed to be absent at nearly all the 
sessions that the measure tame up for discussion; when he did 
chance to be present, he preserved a silence, which on the part 
of the Prime Minister when a Government bill was being dis- 
cussed, was extremely significant. 

The bill proposed that the county franchise should be lowered 
to ten pounds, the borough to six; and made a considerable 
change in the apportionment of members; it also provided that 
where a constituency returned three members, the electors should 
vote for but two, thus giving a representative to the minority. 
This was in strict accordance with the ideas of the Manchester 
school, and partly because it was so pleasing to Messrs. Bright, 
Cobden, et ah, the more Conservative members of the Cabinet 
found it extremely distasteful. Had the Premier spoken once in 
its favor, it would probably have been carried; but the Conser- 
vatives had an easy task before them. The Opposition dared not 
oppose the measure openly : Disraeli saw that clearly ; he might 
have occasion to introduce a Reform Bill some day himself* and 



The Palmerston Ministry. 



205 



though he did not shrink from inconsistency, and had frequently 
disavowed principles of which he had formerly been the ardent 




Mr. Gladstone as Lord Rector of the University of Edinburgh. 

supporter, there was no use of providing his enemies with argu- 
ments against him. He contented himself with a quiet, languid 
Style of speech, which seemed to say, "You may think that this is 



206 The Palmerston Ministry. 

a Reform Bill, but you just ought to see what I could do, if I had 
the opportunity and was so inclined." The bill needed no resis- 
tance from its enemies ; the passivity of its friends was quite 
enough to kill it. 

There were not wanting those who saw what the Premier's si- 
lence meant, and endeavored to reason with him. 

"Why should you oppose this measure?" asked a friend of 
him ; " The representatives who would be sent to a reformed Par- 
liament would be men of the same character and standing with 
those who sit in the present Parliament." 

" Yes," he answered, grimly, " I suppose they would ; but 
they would play to the galleries instead of the boxes." 

Mr. Gladstone was a warm supporter of the bill, and spoke in 
vindication of the conduct and consistency of the introducer. He 
ridiculed the fears of those who thought that the proposed fran- 
chise would deteriorate the constituencies of the country; and 
urged that the new electors would be fully as intelligent and 
capable of judging men and measures, as many who already 
held it. The apprehensions that the six pound electors would 
become so numerous as to swamp the representation of property 
and station in the House were utterly unfounded and delusive. 

The bill was read a second time withouta division, butfinding 
it impossible to carry it through, Lord John Russell withdrew 
it j preferring delay to defeat. 

As we began this chapter with an account of a mission on 
which Mr. Gladstone was dispatched because he was a profound 
Greek scholar, we close with the mention of an honor which was 
shown him because of the same eminence in learning. April 16th, 
1860, he was installed as Lord Rector of the University of Edin- 
burgh, having previously to the installation received the degree 
of LL.D. 

In an address, the great value of which was its practical view 
of the work performed by the universities, and the responsibil- 
ities of those who were students there, Mr. Gladstone told the 
assembled students how broad was the field of knowledge which 
they were to till; and how broad the field of time over which 
the human mind has sowed and reaped its harvest. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

EMANCIPATION FROM TORYISM. 

Wet Weather and Poor Harvests — Dull Session in Parliament — Post-Office Sav 
ings Banks — Garibaldi and His Red Shirt — Mr. Gladstone Defends the 
Liberator of .Italy — Improvement in the Nation's Finances — Protest of the 
Opposition — Bitter Attack on Gladstone — Repeal of the Paper Duty — The 
Ionian Islands again — English Opinion and the American Civil War — 
Reduction of the Income Tax — Surplus in the Revenues for 1864 — The 
Working Classes — Osborne's Amusing Speech — The Question of Church 
and State — Mr. Gladstone Declares Himself Unmuzzled. 

'O talk about the weather of the present day is bad enough; 
but what shall we say when the records of nearly thirty 
years ago are brought forward to explain the course of 
politics ? Yet so it must be now ; for the weather in the 
summer of 1860 was the means of vindicating the wisdom of 
those statesmen who had so persistently maintained the doctrine 
of Free Trade. During the months of June, July and August, 
there was a prevalence of severe, cold, heavy rains, violent gales, 
and destructive floods ; and the long continuance of this unfavor- 
able weather gave rise to the fear that there would be an entire 
failure of the crops. Toward the end of August, indeed, there 
was some slight amelioration; so that the crop was really bet- 
ter than was anticipated, though it was by no means up to the 
average. The removal of the restrictions which had so long im- 
peded the free interchange of commodities with other countries 
now acted in a most salutary manner, when the enlarged neces- 
sities of the country had driven her to the resources of a foreign 
supply. Under the operation of protective laws, the country 
would have suffered most severely ; but the working-classes es- 
pecially, now realized the beneficial effects of Free Trade; and 
those statesmen who had advocated it so strongly became cor- 
respondingly popular. 

The speech from the Throne at the beginning of the session of 
1861 was a disappointment to many of the supporters of the 
Government, as well as to some actually in the Cabinet. Thera 

207 



208 Emancipation from Toryism. 

was no mention of the great question of Parliamentary Reform ; 
the only promise of legislation which was held out had reference 
to some of those law-reforms which had already been under the 
consideration of Parliament. An amendment expressive of the 
dissatisfaction that was felt at this notable omission was at once 
brought forward, but was opposed by Mr. Disraeli, who had no 
notion of the Liberals achieving distinction by their advocacy of 
Reform • and by Lord John Russell, who contended that it 
would be better to take no action at all until such changes as 
would work definite improvement in the existing system could 
be made. Though this view of the matter was strenuously oppos- 
ed by Mr. Bright, who spoke strongly in regard to the inconsisten- 
cy of Lord Russell in now manifesting such lukewarmness to- 
ward a measure which he had formerly supported with such ar- 
dent enthusiasm. But the Ministry was divided in itself upon 
this very question ; in the previous session, the bill had been lost 
because of the Premier's open hostility j the majority of the 
members of the House of Commons were beyond a doubt anx- 
ious to get rid of the whole question; and the amendment call- 
ing for a consideration of Reform was vetoed by a majority of 
eighty-three. 

The Palmerston Government then, had replaced the Derby 
Government because the Reform Bill which the latter had pro- 
posed was not sufficiently comprehensive to meet the demands 
of the people ; and the Ministry which had come into power un- 
der such circumstances had now coolly set aside the whole thing, 
as something which it was not expedient to consider at all. Pal- 
merston's colleagues must of course share the blame which attach- 
ed to such conduct by continuing to hold office under a Minister 
who had been capable of such gross inconsistency. 

The debates of this session were characterized by unusual 
tameness and dullness. In the House of Lords, the Earl of 
Derby strongly condemned the policy of the Government re- 
garding France and Italy ; a policy which he described as plac- 
ing upon the shoulders of the people " an amount of taxation 
absolutely unprecedented in time of peace, and only made more 
intolerable by the financial freaks of the Chancellor of the Ex- 
chequer." To this attack we have the most eloquent of all ans- 
wers _that which the subsequent prosperity, brought about by 
those very financial freaks, gives for Mr. Gladstone. 

Perhaps the most important measure which was this session 



Emancipation from Toryism. 209 

brought forward by this high officer of the revenue was that 
which established the Post Office Saving Banks. This is the sec- 
ond notable reform, especially affecting the middle and lower 
classes, which was the result of Gladstone's labors; the reader 
will recall the provisions of that bill which, while he was Presij- 
dent of the Board of Trade during Sir Robert Peel's administra- 
tion, established the Parliamentary Train on the Railways of 
Great Britain. The establishment of the Post Office Savings 
Banks has undoubtedly been of inestimable benefit to many 
classes of the British community. 

Following the course of the session, we find. Mr. Gladstone 
taking part in the discussion on the vexed subject of Church 
Rates. After an eloquent speech, he concluded by suggesting 
that an arrangement might be made by which the power of a 
majority of a parish to accept or reject Church Rates as a right, 
should be agreed to, at the same time allowing a parish to tax 
itself by the will of the majority. This proposition was assailed 
by Mr. Bright, as leaving the question exactly where it was al- 
ready, that where you could not get Church Rates you were to 
let them alone. The bill to abolish Church Rates was carried 
by a small majority, which included Lord Palmerston and Lord 
John Russell, with other members of the Government; but Mr. 
Gladstone voted against the measure. 

If the questions which related to internal affairs were few and 
of but slight consequence, when viewed from this distance of 
time and space, those which had to do with foreign affairs were 
neither few nor unimportant. Italy was convulsed with that 
struggle which finally resulted in her independence and union ; 
the United States were just beginning that war which was to 
rage for four years, with an incalculable expenditure of blood 
and treasure. Austria was defending her Italian possessions and 
allies ; France was drawn into the struggle, as an ally of Victor 
Emmanuel; the utmost efforts would be necessary to prevent 
England's being compelled to take part, either with Italy or 
Austria, with the United States or the Confederate States. 

"Victor Emmanuel comes to our minds with the prestige of suc- 
cess for an added jewel to his crown; and dazzled by that, and 
by the knowledge that his sovereignty of a united Italy has un- 
doubtedly worked much good to its people, we can hardly under- 
stand how the King of Naples could find friends and defenders 
in liberty-loving England. Ferdinand II., who was responsible 




Queen Victoria at the Opening of Parliament in 1861. 



210 



Emancipation from Toryism. 211 

for those abuses which Mr. Gladstone had been the main instru- 
ment in correcting by his fearless exposure of the condition of 
the Neapolitan prisons, had now been dead for nearly two years, 
and his son, Francis II., reigned in his stead. The new king 
was a not unworthy son of such a father, but his power had been 
first curtailed, then forever nullified, by the acts of Garibaldi. 
The hero of Italy had more than twenty-five years before this 
time been condemned to death for participating in a futile 
revolutionary outbreak at Genoa; his life since the failure of 
that effort had been devoted to the cause of freedom. Pursued 
by the Austrians. his wife had d'ed in his arms, exhausted by the 
dangers and terrible exertions of their flight. An exile from his 
country, he had made himself famous as the liberator of others. 
When he returned to Italy, it was as the acknowledged repre- 
sentative of the people's desire for freedom and union. Success 
had followed him; and his army had grown steadily. In Sep- 
tember, 1860, he entered Naples; not at the head of his troops, 
as a conqueror, but with one or two friends; that it might be 
seen how his coming was awaited by the people. At last the 
message was flashed along the wires, at the close of that last bat- 
tle which Garibaldi fought as commander in this struggle — 
"Complete victory along the whole line." Yictor Emmanuel 
crossed the Papal frontier and resumed command of the army; 
Garibaldi relinquished into the hands of the constitutional sover- 
eign, whose authority he had agreed to recognize, in place of 
that of a republic, the absolute sway which he had acquired 
over the Neapolitan provinces. 

Such was the state of affairs at the beginning of the year 1861, 
when the question was brought up for discussion in the British 
Parliament. At that time, as we have already said, there were 
some supporters in England of Ferdinand II., and Victor Em- 
manuel was strongly condemned by many for the recognition 
of Garibaldi, for supporting him and approving the invasion of 
Naples. The conservative element was startled at the idea of a 
sailor's son presuming to interfere in the government of king- 
doms and the questions of dynasties and thrones, which belonged 
properly to high-born statesmen; and was scarcely less shocked 
at the idea of a scion of royalty accepting the assistance of such a 
man. Mr. Eoebuck predicted that if Garibaldi attempted to do 
in Yenetia what he had already done in Naples and Sicily ? he 
would be hanged within a week, 



212 



Emancipation from Toryism. 



A motion for gorag into Committee of Supply having been 
made in the House of Commons, Mr. Pope Hennessy rose to call 
attention to the "active interference of the Secretary of State in 
promoting Picdmontese policy/' and condemned that policy as 
causing the increase of the national burdens in Piedmont, the 
decline of its trade and commerce, the waste of the population in 
predatory war, and the consequent decay of agriculture. This mo- 
tion gave rise to the most exciting debate of the session. It was 

warmly supported by 
Sir George Bowyer, 
who, in addition to 
the contrast between 
Piedmont and the Pa- 
pal States, which had 
been boldly drawn by 
Mr. Hennessy, urged 
that the English sup- 
port of Napoleon III. 
\ was paralyzing all 
other European allies. 
The policy of the 
present Government, 
he said, had destroy- 
ed that prestige of 
honor and justice 
which used to attend 
the British flag, since 
it encouraged none 
but the revolutionary 
party in Europe, who 
were the unprincipled tools of the "unbounded ambition of the 
French Emperor. 

The second night of the debate, Mr, Gladstone rose to speak 
on the other side. There were other speeches, of course, in the 
defense of the liberator of Italy, and of England's recognition of 
his services to the race ; but his is, as usual, reckoned the most 
eloquent, the most crushing expose of the errors which his op- 
ponents were supporting. 

Had the debate been confined to criticisms of the King of 
Sardinia, he said, or if it concerned only the policy pursued by 
the English Foreign Minister, he would have remained silent, 




Garibaldi. 



Emancipation from Toryism. 213 

confident of the wide-spread approval which that policy com- 
manded. He believed it to be stamped with approval through- 
out the great body of the people of England, from the greatest 
to the least. But the speakers upon the motion had called upon 
the House to lament the foreign policy of the Government, 
which they alleged was founded upon injustice, and said that the 
cause which the Ministry favored in Italy was the persecution 
of righteous governments. The revolution in Naples was called 
a wicked conspiracy, carried on by an unprincipled king and a 
cunning minister; and the people of Naples had been said to be 
governed by benignant laws, wisely administered, and were de- 
voted to their king. Mr. Gladstone, in reply to this characteriza- 
tion, sketched the history of Naples from the accession of Fer- 
dinand II. ; and the story was an unanswerable argument against 
the house which had been so lately dethroned. Francis had 
been lauded for the courage which he had displayed at Gaeta. To 
this Gladstone replied : "It is all very well to claim considera- 
tion for him on account of his courage; but I confess I feel much 
morea'dmiration for the courage of the honorable Member for Dun- 
dalk and the honorable member for King's County (Bowyer and 
Hennessy); for I think I would rather live in a stout and well- 
built casemate, listening to the whizzing of bullets and the burst- 
ing of shells, than come before a free assembly to vindicate — " 
Mr. Gladstone was here interrupted by the tumultuous cheering, 
and was for some time unable to proceed. When the confusion 
had subsided, he continued : " — than to vindicate such a cause as 
that which those honorable gentlemen have espoused." With 
merciless exactitude he went on piling up accusations against 
Francis, and substantiating each by indisputable proofs. Nor 
was Naples the only state on which he turned the brilliant light 
of his eloquence. The Bomagna, Perugia, Modena, all fell under 
the lash ; and the Italians were exonerated from the charge of 
rebellion by a recital of the policy which had been pursued by 
Austria. He closed with a felicitous reference to the manner in 
which the revolution had been accomplished, and the lasting 
blessing which the consolidation of Italy, and her restoration to 
national life, would be to Europe at large as well as to herself. 

So eloquent were the supporters of the Government, and so 
popular was the cause of Garibaldi and Yictor Emmanuel, that 
the debate terminated without a division. The subject again 
came up for discussion during the latter part of the session, when 



214 Emancipation from Toryism. 

Mr. Gladstone took occasion to deny the charge of promoting 
revolutionary movements in Italy, which had been brought 
against the Ministry; and adduced facts and circumstances in 
justification of his previous attack upon the Duke of Modena, by 
which he showed how criminal justice was administered in that 
duchy. 

The budget of the year was presented to the House on the 
fifteenth of April. The House was densely crowded when Mr. 
Gladstone rose, immediately upon the opening of the daily 
session. He briefly sketched the previous year's budget and its 
provisions, and the financial history of the year. It had been 
signalized by the commercial treaty with France, by the re- 
moval of great national burdens, by the abolition of the last pro- 
tective duty from the system; it had been a year of the largest 
expenditure that had occurred in the time of peace, while it was 
characterized by an unparallelled severity of the seasons. The 
apparent deficiency was £2,559,000; but certain deductions re- 
duced this to an actual deficiency of £221,000. We need not here 
recount the various taxes which were held, by their reduction or 
abolition, to have brought about this deficit; we may barely say 
that Mr. Gladstone, in contrasting the revenue of this year with 
that of 1853, when there had been another such change in the 
sources from which the income of the state was derived, while 
he did not attempt to deny that the revenue was not so elastic in 
the latter case as in the earlier, contended that this was due in 
some part to the vast increase in the expenditure, which was full 
twenty millions sterling greater than it had been seven years 
before. 

Mr. Gladstone next proceeded to show that the legislation of 
the past year, especially that relating to the treaty with France, 
had not been without a salutary effect; for though times were 
hard, and many of the people without employment, that was 
owing to the unexampled harvest. He commended the efforts 
which the French Ministry had made to fulfill their part of the 
treaty, and again adverted to the service which Mr. Cobden had 
performed in negotiating it. 

The estimated revenue for the ensuing year was so considera- 
bly in excess of the estimated expenditure that the Chancellor 
of the Exchequer stated that it was proposed to remit the ad- 
ditional penny of the Income Tax which had been imposed the 
year before. Under the magic wand of the great financial en- 



216 Emancipation from Toryism. 

Of this speech, a writer of the time said : "Among those who 
ought to be judges there is an almost unanimous opinion that, 
take it for all in all, this was the very best speech Mr. Gladstone 
ever made. As we now know, he was conscious that he had a 
pleasant surprise in store for those hearers who had come to lis- 
ten to a woeful palinode, and there was a lurking sense of tri- 
umph over his avowed opponents, and still more over his skin- 
deep friends, which gave a lightness and buoyancy to his de- 
meanor which of course spread to his audience. It even gave a 
raciness to his occasional flights of humor. His quotations 
were happy and neatly introduced, and that in Latin was loudly 
cheered by the gentlemen below the gangway, probably because, 
they not understanding it, it had a great effect upon them. But 
the chief merit of the speech, in reference to its object, was the 
remarkable dexterity with which it appealed to the tastes, feel- 
ings, and opinions of the House. At one sentence, delivered 
with his face half turned to the benches behind, Mr. Bright would 
break out into an involuntary cheer, at once both natural and 
hearty ; while the very next moment the orator would lean, with 
a fascinating smile on his countenance, over the table to the 
gentlemen opposite, and minister to their weaknesses or preju- 
dices with equal power and success. * * * * * I n every 
possible respect it was a masterpiece of oratory ; and as it in the 
result actually led to something tangible — that is to say, to a 
surplus and a reduction of taxation — it was in every sense tri- 
umphant." 

But this triumphant eloquence was not received by the House 
without a protest from the Opposition. Although the budget 
was generally regarded in a very favorable light, Mr. Bentinck, 
Mr. Baring, Lord Bobert Montagu, Sir Stafford Korthcote, and 
others on the Conservative benches, warmly opposed it. Ben- 
tinck and Montagu, indeed, undertook several times during the 
session the task of demolishing the Chancellor of the Ex- 
chequer. It would appear that they did not succeed. 

Mr. Gladstone defended his scheme in detail against these at- 
tacks, and demanded that a division should take the place of 
long debates; but the opposition to the budget did not assume 
that definite form. 

The Government had determined to present the budget as a 
whole to the House; not, as was usual, in the form of separate 
propositions., which might be separately discussed, and meet with 



Emancipation from Toryism. 217 

different fates in case of divisions. This was bitterly opposed 
by the Conservatives, who knew that their only chance lay with 
some of the less popular features, not with the measure as a 
whole. The Opposition charged that this was done with the in- 
tent of compelling the Lords to assent to the abolition of the 
paper duty; and at the second reading, May 13th, the whole bat- 
tle was fought over again. Sir James Graham was the most 
powerful defender of the Government in the early part of this 
section of the debate. His speech was followed by what was 
perhaps the most violent personal attack which, up to that time, 
had ever been made upon Mr. Gladstone; the speaker was Lord 
Robert Cecil (afterward Marquis of Salisbury). The budget 
was a personal one, he said; they had no guarantee for it but 
the promises of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and experience 
had taught them that he was not a financier who was always to 
be relied upon. At this stage of his speech, he was interrupted 
by loud cries of "Oh ! Oh!", and it was some time before he 
could again make himself heard. He had already described the 
policy of the Government as worthy only of a country attorney; 
but now he thought that he had done injustice to the attorneys. 
Again interrupted by the cries of. his colleagues, he went on, 
when order had been restored, to characterize the course which 
the Ministry had pursued as one distinguished by all the in- 
genuity of legal chicane — a dodge. Americanized finance was to 
be a consequence of Americanized institutions; with much more 
to the same effect. 

Mr. Gladstone made no answer to this at the time; nor, in- 
deed, did he ever make any direct and extended reply to this 
bitter personal attack. Speaking on the same subject a few days 
later, he referred to the fact that personal matters had been intro- 
duced in the course of the debate, which he thought it best to 
pass by without comment; but legitimate criticisms upon his plan 
he would endeavor to meet. "Whatever may be the censure passed 
upon the "Grand Old Man," he was never accused of vituper- 
ation, or unkindly treatment of those who had exposed them- 
selves to the terrors of that eloquence which might have been so 
sharp a weapon against them. His opposition was always to 
measures, not to men; and his enemies received as courteous 
treatment as his friends. 

Whatever change the proposed plan might make in the Con- 
stitution, he said, was one fully justified by the necessity of the 



218 Emancipation from Toryism. 

ease, and by precedent. Mr. Horsman had declared that it gave a 
mortal stab to the Constitution. Mr. Gladstone thought that the 
Constitution would be all the better for the operation. In re- 
gard to the Constitution as Mr. Horsman understood and ex- 
plained it, with that division of responsibility which most ef- 
fectually did away with all responsibility, Mr. Gladstone thought 
that the sooner it received a mortal stab the better. 

Mr. Gladstone's colleague in the representation of the Univer- 
sity of Oxford, and the Chairman of the Committee of Prece- 
dents, both prominent Conservatives, approved of the course 
which he recommended as strictly constitutional ; and in spite 
of Mr. Disraeli's active opposition, the bill was read the second 
time. 

The discussion upon the repeal of the paper duty on this sec- 
ond reading was the most critical stage at which the bill had yet 
arrived; and in some quarters the fall of the Government was 
confidently predicted. Among those who spoke upon this oc- 
casion were Lord Palmerston, Mr. Gladstone, Lord John Russell, 
Mr. Cobden, Mr. Disraeli, and Mr. Baring. The question finally 
came to a division, the result of which was waited for with great 
anxiety. It showed a majority for the Government of fifteen, 
five hundred and seventy-seven votes being cast. The rejection 
of the bill was moved in the House of Lords, but the motion 
was, upon the advice of the Earl of Derby, who seemed to be 
something of Yiscount Palmerston's opinion about the action of 
the Lords on this subject, not pressed ; and the bill became law. 

The subject of the Ionian Islands again came up in this ses- 
sion, and Mr. Gladstone replied to the member who had demand- 
ed information about them. The information was withheld by 
the Government, who did not think it prudent to make all the 
circumstances public at that time and the conciliatory speech of 
the Chancellor of the Exchequer caused the motion to be with- 
drawn. 

The budget for 1862 was of less interest than those which Mr. 
Gladstone had previously presented for the consideration of the 
House. There were certain reasons for a decreased income. One 
of these was the depression arising from lack of cotton; for 
those were the days when the Confederates were asserting ''Cot- 
ton is King," and seemed to have a fair hope of convincing neu- 
tral nations of the truth of their statement. But the treaty with 
France had accomplished all that was hoped from it; and aj- 



Emancipation from Toryism. 219 

though there would be no remission of taxation, there wonld be 
no new duties imposed. 

Mr. Disraeli attacked this budget, with what he called a his- 
torical survey of the finances of recent years ; and Sir Stafford 
Northcote examined it closely ; but these critics were fully an- 
swered by Mr. Gladstone, to the satisfaction of the Liberals, as 
the result of the voting made evident. 

As in the previous session, there was an attack made by Sir 
George Bowyer upon the Government and people of Italy. To 
this, as before, Mr. Gladstone replied, though Bowyer's speech 
commanded little or no sympathy from the House. " Bowyer's 
unrivalled capacity for ignoring the march of events was unden- 
iable," says one writer; and he repeated the same arguments which 
he had used a year ago, and heard them seconded, as before, by Mr. 
Hennessy. Mr. Gladstone's powerful speech began with a state- 
ment of the reception which Garibaldi had met with at Naples, 
and argued that where an army of 80,000 men had melted away 
like snow before a handful of red-shirted volunteers, the people 
could not be said to be very warmly attached to their king. On 
the other hand, it was maintained that Italy was not a kingdom, 
because it had not been recognized as such by any of the Euro- 
pean Powers except England and France. To this Mr. Gladstone 
retorted that a kingdom which had secured the recognition of 
those Governments had made very considerable progress. When 
the cheers which greeted this sally had subsided, Mr. Gladstone 
proceeded to speak of the occupation of Eome, which he depre- 
cated, although he desired to see the Pope's temporal power 
abolished. 

Turning from the English feeling and opinion regarding Italy, 
which were fairly expressed by Mr. Gladstone's voice in this in- 
stance, we come to regard the English attitude with relation to 
the affairs of America. The engagements of Manassas and 
Shiloh had been favorable to the Confederates ; other battles, of 
less note, had followed, in which the success had frequently been 
on the other side. At this time, however, the palm remained 
with the Southern States ; it was not until the middle of 1863 
when the tide was finally turned, that it became evident to clear- 
sighted onlookers that the South was doomed to inevitable defeat. 
There had been many collisions between the British and Ameri- 
can Governments, when the direction of affairs at Washington 
was largely in the hands of Southern, men j and the Lincoln Ad- 



220 Emancipation from Toryism.* 

ministration hoped, for that reason, to secure the unshaken 
friendship of the English. But these conflicts were remembered 
at London as differences with Americans, undistinguished by sec- 
tions j and British Government did many things which even a 
friend of the South cannot consider strictly impartial. We pass 
over the course pursued with regard to those Confederate com- 
missioners to London and Paris, who were forcibly taken, by a 
United States man-of-war, from under the protection of a neutral 
flag ; for President Lincoln was the first to condemn the action of 
the officer who made the seizure, on the same grounds on which 
the American Government had resisted the right of British men- 
of-war to seize men from under the American flag, previous to 
the war of 1812, which was fought to decide that principle. But the 
action of the British Government in allowing privateers for the 
Confederate service to be fitted out in British ports was an un- 
mistakable evidence of the popular feeling. 

It is not our purpose to enter upon an extended indictment of 
of the English people or the authorities constituted by them, for 
the atttitude assumed during the American Civil "War. We have 
only to note the opinion which Mr. Gladstone held, having already 
shown what was the standpoint of his colleagues and their con- 
stituents. In a speech at Newcastle he expressed the decided 
conviction that Jefferson Davis had already succeeded in making 
the Confederate States into a nation. As a member of the Min- 
istry of a neutral country, he was undoubtedly indiscreet in 
saying so ' } but the success with which the Confederate arms had 
met seems certainly to have justified him in thinking so. Writ- 
ing to a correspondent in New York, five years later, he said : "I 
must confess that I was wrong ; that I took too much upon my- 
self in expressing such an opinion. Yet the motive was not bad. 
My sympathies were then, as they are now, with the whole Am- 
erican people. I, probably, like many Europeans, did not un- 
derstand the nature and working of the American Union. I had 
imbibed conscientiously, if erroneously, an opinion that twenty 
or twenty-four millions of the North would be happier, and 
would be stronger (of course assuming that they would hold to- 
gether) without the South than with it, and also that the negroes 
would be much nearer to emancipation under a Southern Gov- 
ernment than under the old system of the Union, which had not 
at that date (August, 1862) been abandoned, and which always 
appeared to me to place the whole power of the North at the com- 



Emancipation from Toryism. 



221 



mand of the slave-holding interests of the South. As far as re- 
gards the special or separate interests of England in the matter, 
I, differing from, many others, had always contended that it was 
best for our interests that the Union should be kept entire." 

To retrace our steps a few months, there had occurred, in De- 
cember, 1861, an event which exerted a considerable influence 
upon the English court. How far the death of the Prince Con- 




Prince Albert. 

sort affected the history of the country, it is idle to speculate; 
but he so frequently took occasion to express his admiration of 
Mr. Gladstone and the measures which he proposed, that it is not 
improbable that, had the Prince Consort lived, the Queen would 
not have imbibed her well-known dislike for the foremost Lib- 
eral statesman of her reign. On the other hand, it can hardly 
be said with certainty that the Prince would always have ap- 



222 Emancipation from Toryism. 

proved the course which Mr. Gladstone has taken, tending as 
it has to enhance the rights of the people to a greater degree 
than the prerogatives of the Crown, as well as to increased lib- 
erality of sentiment. 

The session of 1863 promised little of interest. The budget 
was the chief topic of discussion, and that did not reach the 
point in men's minds which had been filled by some of its more 
notable predecessors. A considerable surplus of income over 
expenditure having become a certainty, speculation was rife as 
to how it should be employed. In accordance with the dictates 
of public opinion, Mr. Gladstone recommended the reduction of 
the Income Tax and the abolition of the war duties on sugar and 
tea. The causes which gave peculiar interest to the financial 
statements of the last few years were not such, Mr. Gladstone 
said in the speech in which he introduced the budget, as it was 
desirable should be permanent; and with this apology for the 
tameness of the plans which he had to propose, and the state- 
ments which he had to make, the right honorable gentleman 
proceeded to state the case. His speech of three hours contains 
nothing more interesting than his tribute to Lancashire, that 
great northern county in the metropolis of which he first saw the 
light. It will be remembered that at this time the factory- 
hands of England were suffering severely from the effects of the 
American war, which deprived them of the larger part of their 
cotton supply. Nearly two millions of persons had been thrown 
out of employment, and fully half a million were at this time 
wholly dependent upon charity. From the Queen to the ag- 
ricultural laborer, who could hardly spare from his own neces- 
sities the occasional half-penny which he gave, the charity of 
the nation flowed in upon these unfortunates; but there was a 
vast amount of distress which could not be relieved. But the 
burden had been borne manfully, and so Mr. Gladstone knew, when 
he said: 

"Towards that Lancashire, to which up to this time every 
Englishman has referred, if not with pride, yet with satisfaction 
and thankfulness, as among the most remarkable, or perhaps the 
most remarkable of all the S3 r mbols that could be presented of 
the power, the progress, and the prosperity of England — towards 
that Lancashire we feel now more warmly and more thankfully 
than ever in regard to every moral aspect of its condition. The 
lessons which within the past twelve months have been con- 



Emancipation from Toryism. 223 

Veyed, if in one aspect they have been painful and even bitter, 
yet in other aspects, and those too, which more intimately and 
permanently relate to the condition and prospects of the coun- 
try, have been lessons such as I will venture to say none of us 
could have hoped to learn. For however sanguine may have 
been the anticipations entertained as to the enduring power and 
pluck of the English people, I do not think that any one could 
have estimated that power of endurance, that patience, that true 
magnanimity in humble life, at a point as high as we now see 
that it has actually reached." 

Unfortunately, this unexpected power of endurance was to be 
yet more fully tested; for cotton had risen from Sd. per pound 
to 2s. The blockade had not been raised, and there was no cot- 
ton to export if it had been — that is, in amounts considerable 
enough to make any material difference to England; and India 
and Egypt, which have since entered into the competition, were 
not yet fully equipped for the contest. Another cause of de- 
pression was the condition of Ireland, which was, as usual, worse 
than it had ever been before ; the products being one-third less 
than they had been seven years previous. 

The remission of the tea duty and the income tax were very 
popular with the country ; and the budget generally was more 
acceptable to the House as a whole than any other had been for 
a number of years. Mr. Disraeli even had not a word to say 
against it, but rose and left the House as soon as Mr. Gladstone 
had finished his speech. 

The one proposition which aroused formidable hostility was 
that provision by which charities were no longer exempt from 
the Income Tax. One of the largest and most influential delega- 
tions that ever waited upon a Minister of the State endeavored 
to persuade Mr. Gladstone that this course was unjust and im- 
politic. The Duke of Cambridge and the Archbishop of Canter- 
bury headed the deputation, to which Mr. Gladstone replied 
that he would state the reasons for the course recommended by 
the Government to the House of Commons, and that upon the 
decision of the Commons the question should rest. He accord- 
ingly addressed the House the same evening, showing that many 
of the charities which would be taxed were of such a nature as to 
work a real injury in character to those whom they professed to 
benefit, and that the measure was eminently a just one. The 
whole Ministry had agreed that it was a proper course to be pur* 



224 Emancipation from Toryism. 

sued, but the sense of the House was so largely against it that 
the scheme was withdrawn by the Chancellor of the Exchequer. 

At a later period, an amendment to the proposition regarding 
the Income Tax was introduced, providing that this duty should 
fall upon the net income of invested property, and the net 
amount of industrial earnings, which latter should be subject to 
such an abatement as would equitably adjust the burden thrown 
upon intelligence and skill as compared with property. This 
amendment, the substance of which was regularly brought for- 
ward whenever the Income Tax came up for discussion, and 
which had in this instance been negatived by the committee 
which had first considered it, was rejected by a considerable 
majority. 

Viewed from a standpoint of entire religious freedom, it is 
curious to note that in the year 1863, the British Parliament 
should seriously be asked to pass a law enabling Dissenters to be 
buried in the common cemeteries without the rites of the Church 
of England being performed over the bodies. Yet so it was. Nor 
was it a mere act of tardy justice, the repeal of a law which had 
become a dead letter, and was therefore unanimously decreed 
should remain no longer upon the statute book ; there was ac- 
tive opposition to it, and it was finally rejected by a vote of 
221 to 96. 

Mr. Gladstone felt the anomaly, and did not hesitate to express 
himself freely. In his speech upon the subject, he said : "I do 
not see that there is sufficient reason, or indeed, any reason at 
all, why, after having granted, and most properly granted, to the 
entire community the power of professing and practicing what 
form of religion they please during life, you should say to them- 
selves or their relatives, when dead, 'We will at the last lay our 
hands upon you, and will not permit you to enjoy the privilege 
of being buried in the church-yard, where, perhaps, the ashes of 
your ancestors repose, or, at any rate, in the place of which you 
are parishioners, unless you appear there as members of the 
Church of England, and as members of that Church, have her 
services read over your remains.' That appears to me an in- 
consistency and an anomaly in the present state of the law, and 
is in the nature of a grievance." 

It was by such utterances as this that Mr. Gladstone first cre- 
ated, and then widened, that breach between himself and his 
constituency at Oxford, which ended in his failure to be re- 



Emancipation from Toryism. 225 

elected. In some cases, it would appear, it is an honor to fail. 

On but one other occasion did Mr. Gladstone, during this ses- 
sion, engage in a debate of any importance; and the interest at- 
taching to that discussion rather arises from the fact that the 
Government was defeated by a considerable majority, than from 
any inherent value it may have for us. The proposition was 
made to appropriate a considerable sum, in addition to that 
which had already been voted for the purchase of the ground, 
for the buildings of the International Exhibition which had been 
held at South Kensington. Lord Palmerston being kept away 
from the House by illness, the duty of bringing this bill before 
the House devolved upon the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who 
pointed out that the Government was under the necessity of pro- 
viding suitable accommodations for the Portrait Gallery, the 
Patent Museum, and the Natural History Collections of the 
British Museum, and that this was the only opportunity that of- 
fered. Mr. Disraeli and Mr. Lowe were both anxious to express 
their approval of this scheme of the Government, but neither of 
them could obtain a hearing, so great was the confusion in the 
House, the Independent members of which surprised both the 
Government and the Opposition by their attitude upon this 
question. Although the majority against the Government was 
an overwhelming one, the question was not of sufficient import- 
ance to warrant its being regarded as a vote of no confidence; 
and the defeat was therefore passed over as a matter of small 
moment. 

The budget of 1864 was brought before the House in April. It 
was well known that there was a considerable surplus, and there 
was much interest manifested in the disposition of this sum. It 
proved to be somewhat larger than even the most sanguine had 
anticipated — more than two millions sterling when the expenses 
of fortifications had been allowed for. Mr. Gladstone's state- 
ment of the condition of the national finances commanded the 
same flattering attention which had been accorded to him on 
similar occasions previously, the House being packed in every 
part, with the members, peers, foreign ministers, and other dis- 
tinguished visitors crowding the places assigned to them. 

The prosperity of the country was indicated by the trade sta- 
tistics which he brought forward, and pauperism was shown to 
be no greater, outside of Lancashire, which was still suffering 
for cotton, than was usual. The estimated income and expendi- 

15 



226 



Emancipation from Toryism. 



ture for the ensuing year showed, upon comparison, that there 
would then be a considerable surplus. It was the duty of the 
Chancellor of the Exchequer to order the taxation in such a way 
that this surplus would be returned to the tax-payers, by the re- 




Heceiving News of the Ministerial Crisis. 

duction of certain duties. To do this required a readjustment of 
the taxes according to the best calculations possible, and even then 
it was not within human power to foretell what the actual result 
would prove to be. The tax on sugar was to be reduced, 
and also that on fire insurance ; and the Income Tax was to be 



Emancipation from Toryism. 22<* 

one penny less on each pound than it had been. The budget was 
most favorably received, and although there were notices given 
of opposition on some minor points, all the propositions were 
finally carried without a division. 

A third measure which was conceived in the special interest of 
the working-classes was brought forward this session by Mr. 
Gladstone. This was a bill to amend the law relating to the pur- 
chase of Government annuities through the medium of savings- 
banks, and to enable the granting of life insurances by the Gov- 
ernment. During his long public life, Mr. Gladstone said in the 
debate on this question, he had never received so many letters as 
he had upon this measure, from various classes of the com- 
munity, all expressing their approval of the bill, and their grat- 
itude for it. Although this was the outside estimate of it, the 
House was by no means so unanimous, and there were many 
who inveighed against the evils of a paternal government. Af- 
ter the defeat of an amendment which was directed against the 
whole scheme, the bill was referred to a select committee, by 
which it was favorably reported back, with a few minor changes 
recommended, and finally it passed both Houses, being warmly 
supported by many of both parties. 

It was during this session that Mr. Baines brought forward his 
bill for lowering the borough franchise; and Mr. Gladstone 
startled the House, and ultimately his constituents and the 
country, by his utterances upon the subject of Eeform. His 
words evince so clearly the advanced liberalism of his views, 
and are so applicable, not only to English affairs of that time, 
but to the labor troubles of the present, that we make no 
apology for quoting them : 

"We are told that the working-class don't agitate; but is it 
desirable that we should wait until they do agitate? In my 
opinion, agitation by the working-classes upon any political 
subject whatever is a thing not to be waited for, not to be made 
a condition previous to any Parliamentary movement, but, on 
the contrary, is to be deprecated, and, if possible, prevented by 
wise and provident measures. An agitation by the working- 
classes is not like an agitation by the classes above them having 
leisure. The agitation of the classes having leisure is easily con- 
ducted. Every hour of their time has not a money value; their 
wives and children are not dependent on the application of those 
hours to labor. When a working-man finds himself in such a 



228 Emancipation from Toryism. 

condition that he must abandon that daily labor on which he is 
strictly dependent for his daily bread, it is only because then, in 
railway language, the danger signal is turned on, and because he 
feels a strong necessity for action, and a distrust of the rulers 
who have driven him to that necessity. The present state of 
things, I rejoice to say, does not indicate that distrust j but if we 
admit that, we must not allege the absence of agitation on the 
part of the working-classes as a reason why the Parliament of 
England and the public mind of England should be indisposed 
to entertain the discussion of this question." 

The resolution was defeated, but the majority was not a very 
large one, and Mr. Gladstone's speech was thought at the time to 
have influenced many who would otherwise have voted against 
it. The expression of such opinions went far to restore confi- 
dence in the Ministry which had come into office pledged to Re- 
form, but which had become divided in itself upon that very 
subject. 

July 4th, Mr. Disraeli proposed a resolution censuring the 
Government for its foreign policy, particularly in connection 
with the war then in progress between Germany and Denmark. 
This was the highest point which the hostility to the Govern- 
ment had yet reached, and Mr. Disraeli was loudly cheered by 
his political friends as he spoke in support of his motion. It fell 
to the lot of the Chancellor of the Exchequer to reply to the 
leader of the Opposition, and his eloquent speech was the open- 
ing of a protracted debate. The motion was so worded that, as 
Mr. Gladstone expressed it, it could not transfix the Government 
without first passing through the honor of England. 

An amusing feature of this debate was the speech of Mr. Bernal 
Osborne, in which he compared the Cabinet to a collection of 
birds of rare and noble plumage, some alive, some stuffed. Un- 
fortunately, he said, there had been a difficulty in keeping up the 
breed, and it had been found necessary to cross it with the fa- 
mous Peelites. The honorable member continued: "I will do 
them the justice to say that they have a very great and able 
Minister among them in the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and it 
is to his measures alone that they owe the little popularity and 
the little support that they get from this Liberal Party." Mr. 
Gibson, he said, was like the fly in amber, as the wonder was 
"how the devil he got there;" and he proposed, as an epitaph 
for the soon-to-be-defunct Ministry 3 " Rest and be Thankful," 



Emancipation from Toryism. 229 

Although the inscription for the mausoleum was thus kindly 
furnished in advance, there was no immediate use for it, as a di- 
vision showed that the Ministers had a majority of eighteen. 

The Opposition had done its best to defeat the Ministry, and 
had failed ; it is then without surprise that we learn that there 
were no more debates of interest during the remainder of the 
session. The session of 1865 affords us but one clear view of the 
central figure of our narrative, excepting, of course, his official 
speech as Chancellor of the Exchequer. In March of this year 
Mr. Dillwyn moved a resolution affirming that the state of the 
Irish Church was unsatisfactory, and called for the early atten- 
tion of her Majesty's Government. After several speeches, Mr. 
Gladstone rose and entered into a full examination of the ques- 
tion of the Irish Church. He frankly admitted that its state was 
unsatisfactory, but said that having regard to the difficulties 
which stood in the way of removing the anomalies it presented, 
he could not support the resolution. This declaration, to which 
subsequent events gave great significance, intimated that Mr. 
Gladstone, who had always been regarded as a firm supporter of 
the Irish as well as of the English Church, believed that the 
days of the former institution were numbered ; and that its dis- 
establishment was only a question of time. This declaration car- 
ried consternation not only into the Conservative ranks but into 
those of the Government, and caused him to be regarded as the 
leader of the party which favored the disestablishment of the 
Irish Church. The opinions of Mr. Gladstone had more signifi- 
cance at this time than they had ever had before; for it was upon 
his shoulders that the mantle of the leader must soon descend. 
Lord Palmerston was now past his eightieth year, Earl Russell, 
who had in 1861 ceased to bear the courtesy title of Lord John, 
by which he had long been known, was considerably past sev- 
enty. The Premier could not long retain the reins of office, and 
then Mr. Gladstone must succeed to the leadership of the House or 
of the Opposition, as the ease might be. In any event, whether 
the present Ministry retained office or not, the Liberal leader 
would have much to do with the question of the Irish Church. 

Mr. Baines again brought forward his measure during this 
session for the reduction of the Franchise. Sir George Grey, 
speaking on behalf of his colleagues in the Cabinet, maintained 
that they had fulfilled their pledges, but declined to make any 
promises for the next session. Mr, Gladstone sat by in silence 



230 Emancipation from Toryism. 

during the debate. It was reported at the time that his col- 
leagues had exacted from him a promise not to speak on the 
subject; but this has been authoritatively denied. Certainly such 
a promise could do little good, in view of the emphatic words 
which he had used in support of the proposed measure a year 
before. 

The budget of the year showed a considerable decrease in the 
distress which had existed for some time past; and the termin- 
ation of the American Civil War gave reason to hope that there 
would not again be a scarcity of that staple of manufactures 
which was now being in some measure supplied by India and 
Egypt. Reductions of taxation amounting to nearly five and a 
half millions sterling were proposed; and the Chancellor as- 
sured the House that there would still be a surplus at the dis- 
posal of the Government. 

The close of the session saw great irregularity in the number 
of members present at different times ; for a general election was 
rapidly approaching, and the representatives of the people fre- 
quently had occasion to leave their seats in Parliament to ad- 
dress their constituents. There were few or no measures of im- 
portance, the one of most general interest being the attack upon 
Lord Chancellor "Westbury, originating in the House of Lords, 
but finally carried to the House of Commons, and resulting in his 
resignation. 

Parliament would expire by limitation that summer, and it 
was accordingly prorogued, with a view to immediate dissolu- 
tion, early in July. The Conservatives looked for immense 
gains, basing their hopes upon some victories which they had 
recently obtained. The Liberals seem to have been doubtful 
as to the result. But the result for which one had hoped, and 
the other had feared, was not to be; the Conservatives had been 
far too sanguine. 

To turn from the general aspect to that which more nearly 
concerns the hero of our biography, is a duty which now be- 
comes especially imperative. Of all the elections of this period 
the one which excited the most intense interest was that for the 
University of Oxford, where Mr. Gladstone was opposed by Mr. 
Gathorne Hardy. Mr. Gladstone was there recognized as an 
able man, it is true; but he was thought too brilliant to be en- 
tirely safe. No such intellectual pre-eminence has ever been 
claimed for his opponent in this contest, as a historian of the 



Emancipation from, Toryism. 231 

time naively observes. Certainly, Mr. Gladstone's advanced 
Liberalism was extremely distasteful to the Tories of Oxford, 
whom he was supposed to represent. In anticipation of his de- 
feat there, which was not considered improbable even by his 
friends, arrangements were made for bringing him forward for 
South Lancashire at once. It is a somewhat singular phase of 
the question, that his Liberal friends were as desirous that he 
should be defeated at Oxford as the most vehement Tory could be. 

Finding that the seat was in danger, when the polling had con- 
tinued for four of the five days, the chairman of the committee 
which had Mr. Gladstone's interests in charge issued a circular 
to the electors who were still unpledged, pressing upon them the 
duty of recording their votes for the Chancellor of the Ex- 
chequer. " The Committee do not scruple to advocate his cause 
on grounds above the common level of politics/' said this docu- 
ment. " They claim for him the gratitude due to one whose pub- 
lic life has for eighteen years reflected a lustre upon the Univer- 
sity herself. They confidently invite you to consider whether his 
pure and exalted character, his splendid abilities, and his 
eminent services to Church and State, do not constitute the 
highest of all qualifications for an academical seat, and entitle 
him to be judged by his constituents as he will assuredly be 
judged by posterity." Among the voters who endorsed this 
document by their action, taken before or after its appearance, 
were some of the men whose names are most splendid in the roll 
of modern scholars. Keble and Pusey, Alford and Stanley, Wil- 
berforce and Farrar, Palgrave and Freeman, Max Muller, and a 
host of others whom we have not space to record, upheld the 
scholarly financier as their choice. It was not academic Oxford 
which defeated him — for defeated he was — but the vast body of 
outsiders who had votes. 

The Thunderer launched its stately sentences against the in- 
stitution of learning which had thus rejected as its represent- 
ative a man of Mr. Gladstone's distinction as a scholar; and 
added to its fulminations against Oxford the assurance that 
"henceforth Mr. Gladstone will belong to the country, but no 
longer to the University. Those Oxford influences and tradi- 
tions which have so long colored his views, and so greatly in- 
terfered with his better judgment, must gradually lose their hold 
upon him." To the words of the Times the crisper sentences 
of the Daily News, the chief Liberal organ, were a fitting echo; 



232 



Emancipation from Toryism. 



" The late Sir Robert Peel was but the chief of a party, until 
admonished by one ostracism, he finally became emancipated by 
another. It is thus that men rise from opposition to greater 
effort, and the instances are not few in which by facing public 




Cathedral of St. Paul — London. 

scorn they have risen to a higher plane, and have rendered 
their names illustrious — names that might have been almost 
buried in oblivion but for the ostracism they were compelled to 
suffer. Not every one is able to learn wisdom from past experi- 
ences. Then, as now, the statesman who was destined to give 
up to mankind what was never meant for the barren service of a. 



Emancipation from Toryism, 233 

party, could say to those honest bigots who thus rejected him: 

"I banish you ; 
There is a world elsewhere." 

As soon as it became evident that he would be defeated at Ox- 
ford, Mr. Gladstone hastened down to Lancashire, and lost no 
time in presenting himself as a candidate for the southern di- 
vision of that county, where three Conservatives and two Lib- 
erals were already in nomination for the three seats. It was on 
Tuesday, the day of the great Manchester weekly market, that 
he arrived there, and the exchange of the city was crowded, as 
usual, by the merchants and manufacturers, not only of Man- 
chester, but of all the populous district surrounding the cotton 
metropolis of Britain. About three o'clock it was announced 
that Mr. Gladstone was in Manchester; that he had come for- 
ward as a candidate for the representation of the southern di- 
vision of the county; and that he was about to deliver an ad- 
dress to the electoi^s in the great room of Free Trade Hall. In a 
few moments that immense room was packed by an eager au- 
dience, the enthusiasm of which was raised to the highest pitch. 
In that silvery voice which was not the least charm of his oratory, 
the famous statesman began his speech, asking these constitu- 
ents, for the first time, for their suffrages. They heard one 
sentence; it was enough to make their self-restraint no longer 
endurable. 

"At last, my friends, I am come among you; and lam come — 
to use an expression which has become very famous, and is not 
likely to be forgotten — I am come among you unmuzzled." 

The shout that arose as soon as these words were uttered was 
the expression of the Liberal triumph in the acquisition of such 
a leader from the enemy. From that time, the last tie was sev- 
ered that had bound the great statesman to the party of his early 
youth; from that time he was only to grow into wider and 
deeper sympathy with the people of England, with the cause of 
human liberty. No longer trammeled by the thought of what was 
due to his constituents, when he would have spoken freely on the 
great questions which were awaiting solution, he was now rep- 
resenting men whose ideas, like his own, were in fuller accord- 
ance with the progressive spirit of the age. 




CHAPTER IX. 

REPRESENTING SOUTH LANCASHIRE. 

Love for the University — Address to the Electors of Liverpool — Popularity in 
the Large Towns Death of Lord Palmerston — Grave Concern Over the 
Irish Troubles — Old Question of Church Rates — Criticism of the Reform 
Bill — "Cave of Adullam" — Extension of the Franchise — Gladstone's 
Victory— Speeches in Scotland — Ministry Formed by Earl Derby — A New 
Reform Bill — Raising Income for the Government — Public Comment on 
Mr. Gladstone — Scotch and Irish Affairs — The Irish Church — Majority 
for the Liberals — Various Bills in the Commons. 

E. GLADSTONE could hardly be said to have been elect- 
ted by an overwhelming majority; for he was third or 

! ^** the list of the six candidates for the three seats. Bu1 
the majority of the votes cast were for Conservatives; for his 
new colleagues both belonged to that party, and the fourth or 
the list was also a supporter of the Opposition. This renders his 
election the more remarkable tribute to the man, independent of 
parties. 

That emancipation from the thraldom of the University's de- 
mands was not an unmixed joy to Mr. Gladstone, however it 
may have been welcomed by his friends. In that very speech, 
the first sentence of which had been so enthusiastically cheered, 
he said : 

" I have loved the University with a deep and passionate love, 
and as long as I breathe, that attachment will continue; if my 
affection is of the smallest advantage to that great, that ancient, 
that noble institution, that advantage, such as it is — and it is 
most insignificant — Oxford will possess as long as I live. But 
don't mistake the issue which has been raised. The University 
has at length, after eighteen years of self-denial, been drawn by 
what I might, perhaps, call an overweening exercise of power, 
into the vortex of mere politics. Well, you will readily under- 
stand why, as long as I had a hope that the zeal and kindness of 
my friends might keep me in my place, it was impossible for me 
to abandon them. Could they have returned me by a majority of 

234 



Representing South Lancashire. 23& 

one, painful as it is to a man of my time of life, and feeling the 
weight of public cares, to be incessantly struggling for his seat, 
nothing could have induced me to quit that University to which 
I had so long ago devoted my best care and attachment. But by 
no act of mine, I am free to come among you. And having been 
thus set free, I need hardly tell you that it is with joy, with 
thankfulness and enthusiasm, that I now, at this eleventh hour, 
a candidate without an address, make my appeal to the heart 
and the mind of South Lancashire, and ask you to pro- 
nounce upon that appeal. As I have said, I am aware of no 
cause for the votes which have given a majority against me in 
the University of Oxford, except the fact that the strongest con- 
viction that the human mind can receive, that an overpowering 
sense of the public interests, that the practical teachings of ex- 
perience, to which from my youth Oxford herself taught me to 
lay open my mind, all these had shown me the folly, and I will 
say, the madness of refusing to join in the generous sympathies 
of my countrymen, by adopting what I may call an obstructive 
policy." 

In an address to the electors of Liverpool, he felicitously re- 
ferred to the peculiar features of the two constituencies. 

" We see represented in that ancient institution — represented 
more nobly, perhaps, and more conspicuously than in any other 
place, at any rate with more remarkable concentration — the 
most prominent features which relate to the past of England. I 
come into South Lancashire, and I find around me an assemblage 
of different phenomena. I find development of industry ; I find 
growth of enterprise ; I find progress of social philanthropy; I 
find prevalence of toleration ; and I find an ardent desire for free- 
dom * * * * I have honestly, I have earnestly, although I may 
have feebly, striven to unite in my insignificant person that 
which is represented by Oxford and that which is represented by 
Lancashire. My desire is that they should know and love one 
another. If I have clung to the representation of the Univer- 
sity with desperate fondness, it is because I would not desert 
that post in which I seem to have been placed. I have not aban- 
doned it. I have been dismissed from it, not by academical, but 
by political agencies. I don't complain of those political influ- 
ences by which I have been displaced. The free constitutional 
spirit of the country requires that the voice of the majority 
should prevail. I hope t^at the voice of the majority will pre- 



236 Representing South Lancashire. 

vail in South Lancashire. I do not for a moment complain that 
it should have prevailed in Oxford. But, gentlemen, I come now 
to ask you a question, whether, because I have been declared un- 
fit longer to serve the University on account of my political po- 
sition, there is anything in that position, there is anything in 
what I have said and done, in the arduous office which I hold, 
which is to imfit me for the representation of my native count}'?" 

Mr. Gladstone's strength, as shown by this election, lay in 
the large towns rather than in the country boroughs; for in 
Liverpool, Manchester, and all the other towns in this portion of 
the county, his name stood at the head of the poll. We shall 
look to see him, then representing the sentiments of the Liber- 
als of the cities, rather than the more modified sentiments 
which are usual in the English country districts, which are large- 
ly Conservative. 

But although the hands of the Ministry were strengthened by 
considerable Liberal gains in this general election, contrary to 
the expectations of both parties, it had met with a severe loss 
in the death of one of its ablest supporters. This was Richard 
Cobden, who had been named " The Apostle of Free trade." He 
was not a member of the Cabinet, for he had declined the ap« 
pointment which Palmerston had offered him, on account of his 
opposition to the Premier's ideas regarding the foreign policy 
to be pursued; but his closest political ally, Mr. Milner Gibson, 
had accepted the post which Cobden declined, and it was under- 
stood that this was nearly equivalent to his taking office himself. 
He died early in April, 1865. While his loss was severely felt by 
the Liberals, it was still more a blow to that little band of Radi- 
cals of whom he was really the foremost member, though the 
polished sauvity of his manner, contrasted with the abrupt force 
of Bright, gave most persons the impression that he was rather 
more conservative than his great comrade. To the sturdy 
Quaker personally it was a severe blow ; and his tribute to his 
friend, spoken too soon after that friend's death to be esteemed 
a formal memorial address, is one of the most pathetic of its 
kind : " After a close friendship of many years, I never knew 
how much I lo^ed him till I lost him." And the strong, firm-set 
man sat down and wept, regardless of the gaze of his colleagues. 

The death of Cobden had occurred during the session of 1865. 
Before Parliament was again called together, there was anoth- 
er vacancy in the ranks of the Liberal party — the man who was 



"Representing South Lancashire. 237 

nominally at its head, by reason of the position which he had held. 
Lord Palmerston was nearly eighty-one, but although he had oc- 
casionally been kept from the House by attacks of the gout, he 
was far more regular in his attendance there than many a young- 
er man. While Premier, he underwent an amount of work which 
at his age seemed phenomenal ; and all the strength and spright- 
liness of his character were maintained to the last. He died af- 
ter an illness of six days, in the latter part of October. There 
was but one man whom public opinion named as him to whom 
the vacant post of right belonged. Earl Russell the former op- 
ponent, the recent associate, of the dead Premier, was appointed 
by the Queen the First Minister of the Crown. His age, his 
great services, his high reputation, his honorable character, made 
his claims generally admitted. Five years before, the Prime Min- 
ister would have been the leader of the House of Commons ; but 
the courtesy title had given place to one borne by right, and the 
Chancellor of the Exchequer succeeded to the first rank in the 
lower branch of the national councils. It may here be noted, in 
explanation of the apparent anomaly of Palmerston's being in 
the House of Commons, that he was an Irish Peer, and as such 
not entitled to a seat in the House of Lords unless elected to it 
by the whole body of Irish Peers. 

The death of Lord Palmerston removed all doubt as to what 
the Ministry would do upon the subject of Reform. But before en- 
tering upon this much vexed question, it will perhaps be best to 
consider briefly some other subjects which came before Parlia- 
ment this session. Having thus cleared the stage, the progress 
of that great political drama can be watched without interrup- 
tion. 

The budget was introduced May 3rd, during a suspension of 
the hostilities then raging in regard to the Government's Reform 
Bill. There was a surplus of sufficient magnitude to warrant 
certain reductions of duties. The duty on timber was to be abol- 
ished, as well as that on pepper ; and the duty on wine in bottles 
and that on wine in wood were to be equalized. Certain changes 
were recommended in the duties on locomotion; but in recom- 
mending these changes the right honorable gentleman took care 
not to add to the burdens of the middle and lower classes. The 
tea duties were to be renewed, and the Income Tax was to be 4d. in 
the pound. The National Debt had been reduced from £18,- 
000,000 in 1858 to £8,267,000, and the time for further reduction 



238 Representing South Lancashire. 

was most favorable. These provisions met with little opposition. 
A proposition to convert a portion of the National Debt into 
terminable annuities was made the subject of a separate bill, 
which did not pass beyond the second reading, owing to the 
changes which took place during the session. 

Mr. Gladstone had visited Glasgow in the autumn of 1865, and 
had been, with due formalities, presented with the freedom of the 
city. He had then spoken most feelingly of the loss which the 
country had recently sustained in the death of a statesman like 
Palmerston. He was now called upon, by the duties of his position 
as Leader of the House, for an official utterance. The subject was 
an address to the Queen, praying her to order the erection of a 
monument to the late Premier in Westminster Abbey. His eu- 
logy was a masterly analysis of the character of his late chief. 
He was followed by Mr. Disraeli, who added another tribute to 
the memory of the popular Minister. 

The Irish troubles which had recently arisen, or rather grown 
from their normal condition, demand some share of attention. 
Those who had emigrated to America in consequence of the fam- 
ine of 1846-7, and some who had been banished on account of the 
part which they had taken in the insurrection of the followingyear, 
had not been without warm affection for the country which they 
had thus been compelled to leave. The result had been an organiza- 
tion which originated in the United States — but which was by no 
means confined to that country — designed to establish a repub- 
lic in Ireland. The cessation of the Civil War had given the 
Fenians a considerable accession of dangerous assistants by re- 
leasing from their sworn duty to the United States or the Con- 
federate States a number of disciplined veterans, whose experience 
enabled them to train others for military service. In addition to 
this, certain plans had been formed for seducing the Irish soldiers 
in the British army from their allegiance. At first the movement 
had seemed to be wildly impracticable; the end at which they 
were aiming seemed as little possible as the origin which they 
claimed, from some forgotten national militia of Ireland, four 
hundred years before Christ. But the British Government soon 
found that the visionary character of its claims and its hope? 
was not all there was of it. Fenianism was a real danger men- 
acing British rule in Ireland ; the greater, perhaps, because the 
priests, whose counsels had generally been for moderation and 
patience, were carefully excluded from the control of this 



Bepresenting South Lancashire. 239 

organization and from knowledge of its movements. The Gov- 
ernment was driven to propose a bill for suspending the Habeas 
Corpus Act in that country. This measure was violently oppos- 
ed by Mr. Bright, who seems to have seen something of the 
wrong which the Fenians were striving to undo. He called up- 
on the " two great and trusted leaders," Gladstone and Disraeli, 
to throw aside all animosity for the time, and unite in some 
measure which would bring peace to Ireland. The cause of the 
discontent should be found, and a remedy applied; there was some 
way to make Ireland loyal, and it was the duty of the Imperial 
Parliament to find that way. So spoke this champion of the peo- 
ple more than twenty years ago ; fighting in hate of a wrong 
not his own. 

It was the duty of the Leader of the House to defend this 
Government measure against the voices which condemned it; 
and he was not without power in doing so. However much we 
may admire the attitude of Bright, who would thus have yield- 
ed the rights that were demanded, or at least a portion of them, 
we must recognize the wisdom of Gladstone in his arguments 
against this course. The Irish members had acquiesced in this 
bill, and they were the legal representatives of the Irish people. 
Much of Mr. Bright's speech, he said, was open to question, and 
was ill-timed ; it was the duty of the House to strengthen the 
hands of the Executive in the preservation of law and order. Mr. 
Gladstone in later years showed that he was not so blindly prej- 
udiced in this course as the Fenians would have had us believe ; 
when the Irish people demanded their rights in moderation and 
self-control, he urged that these rights be granted; but it will be 
remembered that that demand had not then been made by the 
voice of their representatives in Parliament. "The mills of the 
gods grind slowly;" and the Fenians were premature in the tur- 
bulent violence of their efforts. Ireland will some day be free, 
as her sons, from Emmet to Parnell, have wished to see her; the 
day will sometime dawn when every nation upon earth shall have 
the American ideal of " a government of the people, for the peo- 
ple, and by the people." 

The Government carried out other vigorous measures for the 
suppression of the conspiracy, such as the suspension of the 
newspaper which was the chief organ, the arrest of suspected 
persons, the order of additional troops to Ireland; soon leaving 
only those embers which finally kindled the fires of Parnellism. 



240 



Representing South Lancashire. 



The old question of Church Rates came tip again this session, 
and Mr. Gladstone pressed a measure providing for the abolition 



" : 

11111 





Earl Russell. 

of compulsory Church Kates; but the question was left in the 
same doubtful position which it had so long occupied. 

The war between Austria and Prussia brought about a warm 



Representing South Lancashire* 241 

discussion on continental affairs, in which Mr. Gladstone warned 
the Foreign Secretary that the cause of Italy was dear to the 
people of England, who would not readily forgive a policy 
which attacked her unity and independence. It may here be re- 
marked that Venetia was added to Italy by the treaty which 
closed this war, a few months after Mr. Gladstone's speech on 
the subject; and with the exception of the States of the Church, 
which came under his dominion in 1870, the kingdom of Victor 
Emmanuel was the same as that over which Humbert has sway. 

The decks thus cleared for action, we come to the discussion 
of the all-important measure of Parliamentary Reform. When 
it was known that Earl Eussell had succeeded Viscount Pal. 
merston as the head of the Government, it was confidently an- 
ticipated that there would be a sweeping change in the mode of 
representation; that the franchise would be considerably ex- 
tended, in accordance with the veteran reformer's ideas as ex- 
pressed in that bill which his late chief had literally " damned 
with faint praise." The measure was introduced by the Chan- 
cellor of the Exchequer on the 12th of March, and met with much 
opposition; not from the Conservatives only, from whom of 
course it was to be expected, but from many Liberals as well. It 
has been remarked by the careful historian whom we have quoted 
several times before this, that it was scarcely politic, if the Min- 
istry had looked only to its own stability, to introduce, at the 
beginning of the first session of a new Parliament, a measure 
which would have the effect of renewing the risks and expense 
of a general election. If Earl Russell and Mr. Gladstone had 
been content to wait another session or two before introducing 
the Reform Bill they would have addressed themselves to mem- 
bers whose recollection of the election was less vivid, whose 
purses would have in some degree at least have recovered from 
the enormous drain which English election expenses entail; and 
the reception of the bill would most probably have been more 
fortunate. 

But Lord Russell had long been an enthusiast upon this sub- 
ject. He had made his first motion in favor of Parliamentary 
Reform during the year of Queen Victoria's birth; he had been 
one of the four members of the Government to whom Earl Grey 
intrusted the task of framing the first Reform Bill, which passed 
in 1831 ; and he had proposed that famous measure to the House 
of Commons. He was then verging close upon forty j more than 

16 



242 Representing South Lancashire. 

thirty years later, his ancient ardor had not diminished; and he 
had a worthy second in Mr. Gladstone. " Too fond of the right 
to pursue the expedient," they considered themselves pledged to 
the people; and they redeemed that pledge at the earliest pos- 
sible opportunity. 

The House was crowded in every part as it had been when 
Lord John arose to introduce the first measure of the kind. In a 
speech of two hours Mr. Gladstone explained the provisions of 
the bill. It did not deal with the question of redistribution of 
seats, but simply with the extension of the Franchise; nor did 
Mr. Gladstone promise that the important omission should be 
dealt with during the next session. The bill, though a good and 
honest measure, was evidently a compromise; for that scheme 
which Lord John Russell had introduced, and which Mr. Glad- 
stone had so warmly supported in 1860 had advocated the re- 
duction of the franchise in the towns to £6, and in the counties 
to £10; and the figures in this bill stood at £7 and £14 re- 
spectively. 

As we have said, the bill met with uncompromising opposition 
from a considerable portion of the Liberal party. Of this sec- 
tion, Mr. Lowe and Mr. Horsman were the recognized leaders. 
Mr. Bright, who was of course a warm supporter of the measure, 
spoke in defense of it with all that keenness which so often 
makes his speeches unanswerable. The malcontent Whigs were 
the victims of his sarcasm, which was dealt out with no sparing 
hand: 

"The right honorable gentleman [Mr. Horsman] is the first of 
the new party who has expressed his great grief, who has retired 
into what may be called his political "Cave of . Adullam," and he 
has called about him every one that was in distress and every 
one that was discontented. The right honorable gentleman has 
been long anxious to form a party in this House. There is 
scarcely any one on this side of the House who is able to address 
the House with effect, or to take much part in our debates, whom 
he has not tried to bring over to his party or cabal; and at last 
the right honorable gentleman has succeeded in hooking the 
right honorable gentleman the Member for Calne [Mr. Lowe]. 
I know there was an opinion expressed many years ago by a 
member of the Treasury Bench and of the Cabinet, that two men 
would make a party. When a party is formed of two men so 
amiable, so discreet, as the two right honorable gentlemen, we 



Representing South Lancashire. 



243 



Siill&g 



may hope to see, for the first time in Parliament, a party per- 
fectly harmonious, and distinguished by mutual and unbroken 
trust. But there is one difficulty which it is impossible to re- 
move. This party of two reminds me of the Scotch terrier, 
which was so covered with hair that you could not tell which 
was the head and which was the tail of it." 

But Mr. Bright' s contempt for the weakness of this party of 
two was premature. Since the days when David retired into the 
Cave of Adullam, and 
there gathered to him 
every one that was in 
distress, or in debt, or 
discontented, there have 
always been found fol- 
lowers for such com- 
plainers against the ex- 
isting state of things. 
There were many Adul- 
lamites, as the Palmer- 
stonians, or anti-Reform 
Whigs, began to be call- 
ed ; and the party was 
not without its influence. 
The speeches which 
were delivered against 
the bill by the members 
of this new party were 
of such a nature that 
the Conservative party Rt Hon - Edward Horsman. 

took fresh courage. Had the Liberals remained united, there 
would have been little chance for the Opposition, so con- 
siderable was the majority which had been returned for the 
G-overnment in the general election. The Conservative lead- 
ers summoned a meeting of their supporters for the purpose of 
considering the manner in which they should deal with the min- 
isterial proposal. Lord Derby was absent on account of illness, 
so that Mr. Disraeli was the foremost figure. He delivered an 
address which aroused the enthusiasm of his auditors, and it was 
resolved that the bill should be strenuously opposed. Their 
hopes were no longer confined to mere deiay, or some slight con- 
cessions which might be wrung from the Government; nothing 







244 Representing South Lancashire. 

less than a total rout of the ministerial forces would satisfy 
them ; and the alliance of the Adullamites would enable them to 
achieve this victory. 

It caused no small dismay in the Reform camp when it was 
known that Earl Grosvenor, the eldest son of the Marquis of 
Westminster, had gone over to the enemy j for they had confi- 
dently reckoned upon his continued support. Upon the second 
reading of the bill, however, he proposed a resolution affirming 
that the House did not think it expedient to discuss any bill for 
the reduction of the franchise until the whole plan of the Gov- 
ernment should have been laid before it. 

As Mr. Gladstone had already stated that the Government 
would not attempt anything that session beyond the extension 
of the franchise, this was regarded as a vote of no confidence: 
and coming as the proposition did from one who had so lately 
been an ally upon whom they could always depend, the effect 
was peculiarly discouraging to the friends of Reform. 

This opposition was natural on the part of the representatives 
of small boroughs, who were anxious that their constituents 
should not be immediately disfranchised ; there are few men 
capable of the serio-comic self-sacrifice of that Member for Lud- 
gershall who was his own constituency, as we have mentioned in 
our chronicles of the days of Earl Grey's Reform Bill. Others 
there were who were jealous of the influence which Mr. Bright 
and his adherents were supposed to have exerted over the Cab- 
inet, in framing this bill. Others still feared that if the exten- 
sion of the franchise were carried, it would be the means of ob- 
taining a much larger measure of redistribution than the old 
Whig party was willing to consent to. By the Conservatives it 
was regarded as a dangerous concession to democracy. Such 
were the sentiments of the majority of the House of Commons; 
but the bill was more generally approved in the country. 

The combination between the Tories and the Adullamites was 
one which could not easily be defeated without making conces- 
sions which, in the eyes of the Leader of the House, were calcu- 
lated to lower the dignity of the Government j and Mr. Glad- 
stone was the last man in the world to compromise that dignity, 
even for the sake of avoiding a defeat. At the same time it was 
his duty to avoid that contingency, if possible to do so by means 
consistent with the honor of the Ministry. He therefore gave a 
short explanation on the evening before the House adjourned for 



Mepresenting South Lancashire* 245 

the Easter holidays. After the second reading of the franchise 
bill, and before it was committed, the Government would state 
their intentions with regard to the franchise of Scotland and 
Ireland and the questions connected with the redistribution of 
seats. After that they would proceed with the franchise bill un- 
til until its fate was determined. But the motion ot Lord Gros- 
venor would be opposed as a proposed vote of want of confi- 
dence. 

During the Easter holidays, the friends of the Reform Bill 
worked hard. Mr. Bright told a large meeting at Birmingham 
that their representation was a sham and a farce, and that if they 
wanted Reform, they must bring a strong pressure to bear upon 
Parliament from without. Mr. Gladstone delivered two address- 
es upon the same subject at Liverpool, declaring that he and his 
colleagues had determined to stand or fall by their franchise bill; 
that they had crossed the Rubicon, whence there was no possi- 
bility of retreat. 

When the second reading of the bill came up, just a month af 
ter it had been introduced, there was but little interest in the 
debate, for it was thought that argument on the topic had been 
exhausted; every one was looking anxiously forward to the di- 
vision. But the debate dragged on, night after night. It was 
the 28th of April before the division was reached. The number 
of members voting was perhaps the largest proportion of tho 
House of Commons that ever expressed an opinion in that way ; 
no less than six-hundred and thirty-one votes were cast; so that 
there were but twenty-six, besides the speaker, who did not vote. 
The majority in favor of the Government was five. 

When the result of the division was announced, the excite- 
ment in the House was unparalleled ; it broke forth in shouts of 
triumph, not from the Ministry that had nominally conquered, 
but from the Adullamites who had so nearly defeated them. In- 
deed, such a victory was worse than a defeat; for while it did 
not permit the Ministry to withdraw the bill, it gave a most un- 
equivocal indication that it would meet with a decisive defeat at 
the next stage. The only alternatives were to dissolve or re- 
sign. 

The division had taken place Saturday morning, and at five 
o'clock Monday afternoon Mr. Gladstone rose to announce the 
programme of the Ministers. The bill was to be proceeded with; 
in a week's time leave would be asked to introduce the bill for 



246 Representing South Jjancashire. 

the redistribution of seats ; bills for Scotland and Ireland were 
to be brought in on the same evening, and would be proceeded 
with at the same time as the franchise bill. The House received 
the announcement in silence; the decisive battle was yet to be 
fought. 

Mr. Gladstone further announced, on the evening that these 
bills were introduced, that the Queen would not be advised by 
the Government to prorogue Parliament until these bills should 
become law. The franchise and redistribution bills were finally 
combined, and submitted to one committee. The question was 
not finally decided until June 18th, when, on an amendment pro- 
posed by an Adullamite, the House divided, and gave a major- 
ity of eleven against the Ministers. The Opposition, both Tories 
and Whigs, received the announcement with deafening cheers. 
The Eussell Government was to stand or fall by its Eeform 
measure, and the bill had failed. 

The Queen was in Scotland, and it was some time before the 
suspense of the House was relieved. Would the Cabinet resign, 
dissolve, or go on with the bill ? Eight days later it was an- 
nounced that they had determined to resign • and that her 
Majesty had finally accepted their resignations, though not with- 
out considerable hesitation. Mr. Gladstone thus stated the rea- 
sons which had actuated them in this course : 

"The question before the Government was, whether they 
should resign their offices or whether they should accept the vote 
that had been come to, and endeavor to adapt it to the frame- 
work of their measure of Eeform. * * * * By accepting the vote 
there would have been a breaking-up of the framework of the 
measure. But besides this, the Government had to consider the 
previous history of the bill, especially with reference to the 
pledges given from time to time — advisedly and deliberately giv- 
en — to stand or fall by the measure. That is a pledge which 
should rarely be given by a government, but it has been given 
by this Government under the deepest conviction of public duty 
in regard to dealing with the question of Eeform, and with re- 
spect to the character of public men and of Parliament. There- 
fore it was that the life of the Administration was attached to 
the life of the measure they proposed. ***** Looking, I say, 
at all this, the Government found it impossible to carry on the 
bill, and we had no alternative but a resignation, and a persis- 
tence in our resignation." 



'c. ■ 



Representing South Lancashire. 



247 



The fact that the measure had met with such favor in the coun- 
try suggests that the Ministry might have appealed to that last re- 
sort, and thus secured the victory; but there were many Whigs in 
the Cabinet, who were by no means friends of the measure, 
though they could not openly oppose a bill introduced by their col- 
leagues ; they were not willing, however, to make any sacrifices 




lit. Hon. Robert Lowe. 

for it, nor would they make great efforts to push it; in view of 
this disagreement, such a course would have been impracticable. 

A new Ministry was formed, with the Earl of Derby at the 
head, and Mr. Disraeli as Chancellor of Exchequer and Leader 
of the House. The composition of the new Ministry was an- 
nounced on the 9th of July. 

In addressing the House of Lords upon the policy which the, 



24-8 Mepresenting (South Jbancashire. 

Government would pursue, Lord Derby said that they were en- 
tirely unpledged upon the subject of Reform;. and that they 
would not take up the question unless there was a fair prospeet 
of carrying it through. With many promises of needed legisla- 
tion, he addressed himself to the task of winding up the business 
of the session as soon as possible; but this was not accomplish- 
ed in less than a month. 

During this time, when the question of Reform remained in 
abeyance in Parliament, it was eagerly discussed by the people. 
Several associations were formed for the purpose of giving a 
plain and practical contradiction of the statement that the peo- 
ple were indifferent to it. The Reform League was the most con- 
siderable of these. A London barrister, Mr. Beales, was its pres- 
ident, and it owed much of its efficiency to his energy and tal- 
ents. The League wished to hold a monster mass-meeting, and 
the president advised them that this might be done without in- 
fringement of the law. The place was fixed for Hyde Park, but 
the police forbade this, and the spectators, guided by Beales, 
went to Trafalgar Square, where the meeting was held. Resolu- 
tions in favor of Reform, and votes of thanks to Messrs. Glad- 
stone and Bright for their constancy in the cause which so many 
had deserted, were carried unanimously. The members of the 
league and their friends then dispersed quietly. There was no 
disturbance; though a number of roughs, who had followed 
them to Hyde Park and remained there when the League with- 
drew to Trafalgar Square, created considerable trouble, which was 
wrongly laid to the door of the advocates of Reform. But this 
riotous conduct was not without its use; the Government heard 
the loud voices of the mob calling thus tumultuously more clearly 
than it had heard the voices of the more orderly who had been 
beseeching and claiming as a simple right the extension of the 
franchise. 

The Derby Government could not shirk the question of Re- 
form. They must go on with it, and it must be no half measure. 
But they left it in suspense almost to the last moment, for the 
Cabinet, as in the case of that which had been displaced, was di- 
vided upon the subject. Finally, however, Lord Derby and Mr. 
Disraeli succeeded in persuading their colleagues to consent to 
the introduction of a bill upon this subject in the session of 1867. 

Mr. Disraeli's position was hardly an enviable one, unless we 
consider that man fortunate whose powers are displayed by the 



Representing South Lancashire. 24<) 

magnitude of the obstacles which he has to surmount. He was 
leader of a party that had all along dreaded and opposed any ex- 
tension of the suffrage, being regarded with jealousy and suspi- 
cion by many whose support was necessary to the success of his 
scheme. Opposed by a considerable majority, which, although 
divided, might unite at any time; supported by a party that fol- 
lowed him with undisguised repugnance, and which, to borrow 
his own phrase, required to be educated up to the point of accept- 
ing such a measure as he would be obliged, by the pressure from 
without, to propose; and hampered by the declarations which he 
himself had made regarding the numerous Eeform Bills which 
his opponents had brought forward at different times — he yet rose 
to the difficulty of his task with consummate ability. There were 
two plans possible: one a mild and conservative measure, the 
other a bolder one. It was the latter which was finally brought 
before the House. 

In less than a week after Parliament assembled, the Leader of 
the House explained the provisions of the proposedbill. He gave 
notice later that the bill would be introduced March 18th. Mr. 
Gladstone spoke in answer to this notice, expressing a hope that 
when the Eeform measure appeared, it would be simple and 
straightforward; not having a double set of provisions, one of 
which seemed to give, while the other really took away liberty. 
If the plan promised to effect good in a simple, straightforward, 
intelligible and constitutional manner, it would be received on 
his side of the House in no grudging spirit, with no recollection 
of the past, and no revival of mutual suspicions and complaints. 
It would have been well if the Government could have embraced 
these generous overtures; but there was a considerable section 
of the Conservative party who wanted no Eeform at all, and Mr. 
Disraeli was obliged to satisfy them as well as those who were 
clamoring loudly for the changes. 

Three of the Ministers had resigned because they could not 
give their assent to the bill approved by the majority of their 
colleagues. Instead of drawing a five, six, or seven pound limit, 
to cut off those from the franchise whose extreme poverty would 
render them more susceptible to bribes, the Government boldly 
adopted household suffrage with the simple qualification of the 
paj^ment of rates. Mr. Disraeli calculated that this would en- 
franchise 237,000 additional voters, and that of the whole num- 
ber of those who would have a voice in the election of the 



250 Representing South Lancashire. 

House of Commons, one-half would belong to the middle class 
and one-fourth each to the higher and lower classes. Such was his 
much talked of " balance of power." But the bill did not give 
a vote to those householders whose rates were paid by their 
landlords; so that although the bill was on its face extremely 
generous, it was not really as much so as that which Mr. Glad- 
stone had introduced. 

A novel feature of the bill, and one which was by no means 
approved of, was that provision which gave a man two votes if 
he paid the requisite amount of assessed taxes or income tax, 
and was also a rate-paying householder. This was strongly as- 
sailed by speakers on both sides of the House, among the most 
emphatic of whom was Mr. Gladstone. A meeting of one hun- 
dred and forty members of the Liberal party was held at Mr. 
Gladstone's residence early in April, to arrange what course of 
action should be taken in opposing this bill. Some difference of 
opinion was expressed as to what should be done, but it was 
finally understood that Mr. Coleridge was to introduce a resolu- 
tion affirming that the committee should have power to alter the 
rating and make other changes On that very evening a meet- 
ing of some forty or fifty members was held in the tea-room of 
the House of Commons, who agreed that they would unite to 
limit the instructions to be proposed by Mr. Coleridge. They 
then appointed a deputation to convey to Mr. Gladstone the feel- 
ing of the meeting, and to assure him that the members compos- 
ing this meeting would continue to give him a loyal support in 
committee. Mr. Gladstone, finding that by the defection of so 
many of his adherents he was almost certain to incur a defeat, 
yielded to their demands, and the resolution was altered accord- 
ingly. The House went into committee, Mr. Disraeli having ac- 
cepted the altered resolution. Mr. Gladstone gave notice of sev- 
eral important amendments, which Mr. Disraeli stigmatized as 
merely the resolutions which had been abandoned by the tea- 
room party, cast into another form;, and he announced that if 
they were insisted upon, the Government would not proceed 
with the bill. As most of the tea-room party held together, 
the Government triumphed by a majority of twenty-one in the di- 
vision on the first of Mr. Gladstone's resolutions. After this, he 
could not hope to cany any of the others, and they were with- 
drawn. Nor was this all; he determined to withdraw from the 
leadership of the Liberal Party. He announced his intention, 



Representing South Lancashire. 251 

dnd explained the reasons for it, in a letter to one of the mem- 
bers for the City, who had asked him if he intended to persevere 
in moving the amendments of which he had given notice. In 
this letter Mr. Gladstone clearly expressed his intention of not 
taking further steps to combat the action of the Government; 
though he promised to follow any one who would undertake the 
leadership in this matter. 

His action was sincerely regretted by those who still support- 
ed him, though they saw that he was justified in the course which 
he had taken. Mr. Bright took the opportunity which a great 
Reform demonstration at Birmingham afforded, to denounce the 
action of those Liberals who had thus deserted their leader at 
such a critical time. Eulogizing Mr. Gladstoneas having brought 
to the consideration of this question of Reform more earnest- 
ness, conviction, and zeal than any statesman since the measure 
of Earl Grey had excited all England, he asked : " Who is there 
in the House of Commons that equals him in knowledge of all 
political questions? Who equals him in earnestness ? Who equals 
him in eloquence? Who equals him in courage and fidelity to 
his convictions? If these gentlemen who say they will not fol- 
low him have any one who is equal, let them show him. If they 
can point out any statesman who can add dignity and grandeur 
to the stature of Mr. Gladstone, let them produce him. It is a 
deplorable thing that last year a small section of forty men, or 
thereabouts, of professing Liberals, destroyed the honest and ac- 
ceptable (I speak of the people) bill of the late Government, and 
with it destroyed also the Government which proposed it. About 
an equal number have this year to a great extent destroyed the 
power of the Opposition, and may assist an anti-Reforming Gov- 
ernment to pass a very bad measure on the greatest question of 
our time. ***** What can be done in parliamentary parties 
if every man is to pursue his own little game ? A costermonger 
and donkey would take a week to travel from here to London • 
and yet, by running athwart the London and Northwestern line, 
they might bring to total destruction a great express train ; and 
so very small men, who during their whole political lives have 
not advanced the question of Reform by one hair's breadth or 
one moment of time, can in a critical hour like this throw them- 
selves athwart the objects of a great party, and perhaps mar a 
great measure that sought to affect the interests of the country 
beneficially for all time." 



252 Representing South Lancashire. 

The plain truth and justice of Mr. Bright' s speech carried with 
his censures weight that made them to be felt by men, who, pro- 
fessing to desire a real extension of the franchise, were yet 
adopting a course which was nullifying that object, and were 
placing at the disposal of the minority a power which ought to 
be exercised by the majority. 

The bill made no provisions for granting the franchise to lodg- 
ers, but this was conceded as time went on. Other modifications 
were made both in the franchise and in the re-distribution of 
seats; and the Government announced that from this position 
they would not recede further. Various amendments were pro- 
posed, but the House was only too anxious to have the question 
settled, and these were rejected, though by very small majorities. 
Some other concessions were wrung from the Ministry, notwith- 
standing Mr. Disraeli's positive statement; so that one of those 
ministers who had resigned office because he could not support 
this bill, observed that it seemed there was nothing with less vi- 
tality than a vital point, nothing so insecure as the securities 
which the bill offered, and nothing so elastic as the conscience of 
a Cabinet Minister. Certainly he had cause for these biting re- 
monstrances, for the Conservative Ministry had so modified this 
measure that it was one which might have been introduced by 
Mr. Bright himself, and far surpassed the expectations even of 
the Reform League. 

The later clauses of the bill were hurried along, for it was the 
latter part of July; amendments were negatived after very 
slight consideration ; and the bill at last came up for the third 
reading. 

The caustic severity of the language which was used in de- 
scribing Mr. Disraeli's course in this matter has scarcely been 
equalled in Parliament. It recalled to the minds of the elder 
members his own attack upon Sir Robert Peel. Mr. Disraeli, 
however, was not without weapons to repel such an attack; and 
answered by reviewing the action of the Palmerston Govern- 
ment, which had come into existence because the Derby Cabinet 
could not or would not grant Reform, and shirked the responsi- 
bility for which they had been appointed. The bill was read a 
third time, a single dissenting voice beingheard when the Speak- 
er put the question; and when the motion was made, " that the 
bili do pass," the announcement of the vote was received with 
more than usually tumultuous cheering. 



Representing South Lancashire. 253 

The Eeform Bill passed the House of Lords in August, and be- 
came law shortly afterward. Mr. Disraeli gave not a little of- 
fence to his adherents by the language which he shortly after- 
ward used in speaking of it. " I had to prepare the mind of the 
country/' he said, at a Conservative banquet in Edinburgh, "and 
to educate — if it be not arrogant to use such a phrase — to educate 
our party/' There was much comment upon the expression, 
and the newspapers continued to quote it for a long time. 

The author of this much amended Eeform Bill was shortly to 
be called to occupy a higher position than his talents had yet 
won for him. The Earl of Derby had been in ill-health for a 
long time, frequently being unable to attend the sessions of the 
House of Lords ; at other times he forced himself to be pres- 
ent when he was manifestly unfitted for the exertion. He re- 
tired in February, 1868, and Mr. Disraeli became Prime Minister. 
Of this elevation, the newspapers had much to say; and what 
they said was not always exactly complimentary to the brilliant 
novelist-politician. While not as violently worded as some of 
the attacks which the press of this country sometimes makes up- 
on high officials, from the President down — for they would notbe 
guilty of formal disrespect to the the First Minister of the Crown 
— there was yet a mingling of unanswerable raillery and sar- 
casm. Perhaps an extract from the Pall Mall Gazette will be the 
best example : 

" One of the most grievous and constant puzzles of King 
David was the prosperity of the wicked and scornful ; and the 
same tremendous moral enigma has come down to our own days. 
In this respect the earth is in its older times what it was in its 
youth. Even so recently as last week the riddle presented itself 
once more in its most impressive shape. Like the Psalmist, the 
Liberal leader may well protest that, i verily, he has cleansed 
his heart in vain and washed his hands in innocency; all day 
long he has been plagued by' Whig Lords, 'and chastened every 
morning by' Radical manufacturers ; as blamelessly as any cur- 
ate he has written about Ecce Homo, and he has never made a 
speech, even in the smallest country town, without calling out 
with David, 'How foolish am I, and how ignorant!' For all 
this, what does he see? The scorner who shot out the lip and 
shook the head at him across the table of the House of Com- 
mons last session, has now more than hvnrt could wish ; his eyes, 
speaking in an Oriental manner, stand out with fatness, he speak' 



254 Representing South Lancashire. 

eth loftily, and pride compasseth him about as with a chain. * * 
* * That the writer of frivolous stories about Vivian Grey and 
Coningsby should grasp the sceptre before the writer of beauti- 
ful and serious things about Ecce Homo — the man who is epigram- 
matic, flashy, arrogant, before the man who never perpetrated an 
epigram in his life, is always fervid, and would as soon die as 
admit that he had a shade more brain than his footman — the 
Eadical corrupted into a Tory, before the Tory purified and ele- 
vated into a Eadical — is not this enough to make an honest man 
rend his mantle, and shave his head, and sit down among the ashes 
inconsolable? Let us play the too underrated part of Bildad 
the Shuhite for a space, while our chiefs have thus unwelcome leis- 
ure to scrape themselves with potsherds, and to meditate upon 
the evil ways of the world." 

Beneath the scoffing and pretended condolence of this para- 
graph, there is no small vein of truth. The characters of the two 
men are not inaptly drawn ; for although it is a palpable exag- 
geration to say that Mr. Gladstone would "as soon die as admit 
that he had any more brains than his footman," he is not keenly 
self-appreciative; and the quality thus lacking in his mental 
composition was possessed in double share by the most eminent 
of his rivals. 

Parliament had been summoned in November, 1867, to consid- 
er the Abyssinian War. This was undertaken for the deliver- 
ence of certain British subjects who were held captive by King 
Theodore. Mr. Gladstone was among those who spoke on the 
subject. There had been certain statements made by Mr. Dis- 
raeli during the recess, regarding Parliamentary matters, which 
he, as Leader of the Opposition, was fully justified in asking an 
explanation for; but the illness of Mrs. Disraeli had at this time 
assumed such a form that she was in a precarious condition ; and 
the brilliant novelist was as deeply attached to his wife as he 
was indebted to her. Prefacing his speech, therefore, with the 
statement that he would refrain from asking for any explana- 
tions, and by an expression of his sympathy with Mr. Disraeli 
in his domestic affliction, Mr. Gladstone pointed out that while 
there was a clear casus belli, it was not at all clear that there 
would be much gained by a war; the Ministry would have to 
convince the House that the ohjects of the expedition were ob- 
tainable, and show both how it was proposed to carry on the ex- 
pedition, and what would be its limits. He pressed for a settle- 



Representing South Lancashire. 255 

ment of the troubles in Ireland, where the Fenian outbreak was 
at its height. He trusted that the rumor was incorrect which 
assigned to the Irish Church Commission the function of draw- 
ing up plans for its reorganization. Mr. Disraeli was unusually 
moved when he rose to reply, thanking Mr. Gladstone for the 
expression of sympathy, and the House for the manner in which 
it had been received. His speech did not promise much defin- 
itely. The Government hoped to accomplish all that was de- 
manded of them j they were still unpledged to the Abyssinian 
Expedition ; they would introduce a bill dealing with the Irish 
troubles; and were giving their earnest attention to Church mat- 
ters. The House a few days later voted a sufficient sum to carry 
on the African war, and, agreeably to the plan for which Mr. 
Gladstone had on this occasion as on others so warmly pleaded, 
imposed an additional tax to meet the expense without adding 
to the debt. The House adjourned about the middle of Decem- 
ber, the objects of this special session having been accomplished. 
Beform Bills relating to Scotland and Ireland were carried dur- 
ing the session of 1868, and the work for which Earl Eussell had 
so long hoped was thus accomplished by his political opponents, 
who had opposed nothing so vehemently and persistently. 

A question which had long occupied the attention of Parlia- 
ment was definitely settled this session, chiefly by the efforts of 
Mr. Gladstone. The measure, which was the Compulsory 
Church Bates Abolition Bill, passed both houses, though not 
without some opposition from the Conservatives. It provided 
that there should be no legal proceedings for the collection of 
Church Bates, unless money had been borrowed on them as se- 
curity ; but voluntary agreements might be made, and the money 
so promised might be collected in the same way that any other 
contracts might be enforced. While this bill was looked upon as 
a Badical measure, it is not clear that it really made much change 
in the real state of affairs. Parliament simply agreed that the 
Church would waive the right which she had asserted, in case 
she could not secure the recognition of that right from those 
who supported other places of worship. 

The Irish Church had long been a subject which had perplexed 
the legislators of the Empire. If the Dissenters in England had 
been strong enough to compel that act of justice which has just 
been chronicled, the Non-conformists of Ireland were strong 
enough numerically to have done much more, had all other 



25(3 



Representing South LancaskirB. 



things been equal. But the mere assertion of a right by an Irish- 
man seems always to have been enough to arouse the opposition 




Hon. Charles Stewart Parncll. 



of Englishmen. A nation which prides itself upon its sense of jus- 
tice, its regard for the rights of man, its love of liberty, has 
never hesitated to grind a subject nation to the dust. The Irish 



Representing South Lancashire. 257 

Church was exotic, and only the care which was given it by Par- 
liament enabled it to stand the cold regard of the people of the 
country. As long ago as 1835, in that pamphlet which won 
his baronetcy for him, Bulwer-Lytton had said that the words 
"Irish Church" were the greatest bull in the language; that it 
was called the Church of Ireland because it was not the Church 
of the Irish. We have had occasion before this to speak of the 
difficulty which was experienced in collecting tithes; that diffi- 
culty had not diminished in the least. To mend the matter for the 
incumbents, who were thus unable to collect their incomes, the 
Government had formulated a scheme by which the Church 
would be less embarrassed ; this was the plan of charging the 
landlord with the tithes, and allowing him to add a correspond- 
ing sum to the rent which had before been exacted. A refractory 
Irishman, who paid a hundred pounds a year for his holding, thus 
had his rent raised to one hundred and ten pounds, in order that 
a church for which he had no regard might he enabled to support 
her ministers. This was the chief change that had been made in 
the government of the Irish Church since the days of O'Connell, 
and it was one that bore heavily upon an already over-burdened 
people. 

On the 16th of March, 1868, Mr. Maguire having moved that 
the House resolve itself into a committee of the whole to con- 
sider the Irish question, Mr. Gladstone struck the first blow in 
the fight which was to end in the disestablishment of the Irish 
Church. After speaking feelingly of the wrongs which the Irish 
had endured at the hands of the English for centuries, he said 
that there must be religious equality established; but that the 
principle of leveling up was a most pernicious error. The Irish 
people had repeatedly been urged to loyalty and to union; that 
was what he would advocate, too ; but it was idle, it was mock- 
ery to use the words without giving them some substantial mean- 
ing by action. It is unnecessary to quote his pleadings for a meas- 
ure which has long since become law ; but his conclusion is perti- 
nent to the present, and will be so until Ireland is free: 

"If we are prudent men, I hope we shall endeavor, as far as in 
us lies, to make some provision for a contingent, a doubtful, and 
probably a dangerous future. If we be chivalrous men, I trust 
we shall endeavor to wipe away those stains which the civilized 
world for ages has seen, or seemed to see, on the shield of Eng- 
land in her treatment of Ireland. If we be compassionate men, 

*7 



258 Representing South Lancashire. 

I hope that we shall now, once for all, listen to the tale of woe 
which comes from her, and the reality of which, if not its jus- 
tice, is testified to by the continuous emigration of her people; 
that we shall endeavor to 

' Eaze out the written troubles from her brain, 
Pluck from her memory the rooted sorrow.' 

But, above all, if we be just men, we shall go forward in the 
name of truth and right, bearing this in mind ; that when the case 
is proved, and the hour is come, justice delayed is justice denied." 

This eloquent appeal carried consternation into the camp of 
the enemy. Mr. Disraeli bewailed his own misfortune in being 
confronted with this ancient problem at the very outset of 
his career as Premier; the same state of affairs had existed 
while the Palmerston and Russell Governments were in power, 
to both of which Mr. Gladstone had belonged, and no attempt 
had been made to deal with it. He strongly objected to the de- 
struction of the Irish Church, being personally in favor of eccles- 
iastical endowments. At Mr. Gladstone's request Mr. Maguire 
withdrew his motion. 

But the spectre had been raised, and could not be laid. The 
Irish Church question had moved forward an enormous stride 
when Mr. Gladstone had made that appeal, and it was impossible 
to go back, or even to stand still. The country speedily took up 
the cry of disestablishment, and it became the one aim of the 
Liberal party of the time. Mr. Gladstone himself did not recede 
from the advanced position which he had taken, but laid upon 
the table of the House of Commons a series of resolutions, 
which he intended to move in committee of the whole, affirming 
that it was necessary that the Established Church of Ireland 
should cease to exist as an establishment, due regard being had 
to all personal rights and individual interests ; and that an ad- 
dress should be presented to Her Majesty, praying that her inter- 
erest in the temporalities, dignities, and benefices in Ireland be 
placed at the disposal of Parliament. To these resolutions Lord 
Stanley, a few days later, gave notice of an amendment to the 
effect that the whole subject might well be left to the considera- 
tion of a new Parliament. 

March 30th, Mr. Gladstone delivered his famous speech in con- 
nection with these resolutions. Having given assurance that his 
measure did not contemplate the violation of any vested right or 
interest, but would endeavor to work this great reform without 



Representing South Lancashire. 259 

injustice to any one, he proceeded briefly to recapitulate his per- 
sonal history in connection with the subject. We need scarcely 
remind the reader what changes his opinions had undergone; 
those who are so interested in the subject as to desire a detailed 
account, may be referred to the pages of Hansard, or the pub- 
lished speeches of the great Liberal, or to that resume of his own 
which we have before had occasion to quote, "A Chapter of Auto- 
biography." 

The speaker showed the futility of the attempt to Protestant- 
ize Ireland by the maintenance of the Establishment; though 
the census of 1861 showed a small proportionate increase, the 
rate was so small that it would take 1500 or 2000 years to ef- 
fect the ..inversion of the entire people. He recognized that 
many felt that it was an unhallowed act to disestablish a Church, 
and while he fully understood the feeling, he thought it an error, 
which it was his duty to overcome and repress. Throughout the 
whole speech there ran a tone of deepest sympathy with those 
earnest thinkers who looked upon this measure as almost, if not 
quite, an act of sacrilege ; a sympathy the more profound be- 
cause the speaker had himself passed through that stage of 
thinking ; he had held the faith which they now held ; but hav- 
ing grown out of it, he called to them to rise to the level which 
he had reached. That journal which had called him a Tory ele- 
vated and purified into a Eadical, might well now have styled 
him a Churchman purified and elevated into a Christian. 

Lord Stanley justified his amendment upon the ground that 
Mr. Gladstone's resolutions merely affirmed the necessity for ac- 
tion, without specifying what should be done. Lord Cranborne, 
on the other hand, condemned the amendment as ambiguous; it 
left all to the future policy of the Government, which ho would 
as soon undertake to predict as to tell the House which way the 
weather-cock would point to-morrow. This fling at the Premier's 
inconsistency was followed by a thoroughly Conservative speech 
by Mr. Gathorne Hardy, who it will be remembered was that 
successor of Mr. Gladstone as the representative of Oxford 
who was not regarded as dangerous on account of any phenom- 
enal ability. Mr. Bright, of course, justified disestablishment, 
on the ground that the Irish Church had been, both as apolitical 
institution and a missionary church, a most deplorable failure, 
The Conservative party had resisted Free Trade, Eeform and 
other measures, and this was not more serious than they had been. 



260 



TJie First Gladstone Ministry. 



Mr. Lowe spoke forcibly in favor of disestablishment, arguing 
that the Irish Church was founded upon an injustice, on the dom- 
inant right of the few over the many ; as a missionary work, it 
was a miserable failure ; and, like Mr. Bright, he showed how 
disproportionate to the effort in this direction had been the result, 
a fact that must be universally conceded. 




Hon. Gathorne Hardy. 

To all these Mr. Disraeli answered in a speech which even for 
him was of an unusually personal character. Lord Salisbury, he 
said, was a man of great talent, and had vigor in his language. 
As soon as the noble lord heard the amendment, he concluded 
that the Government was about to betray its trust. Mr. Lowe 
suffered more severely at his hands. There was nothing that he 
liked, and almost everything that he hated. Mr. Disraeli then 
stated, with that coolness which distinguished him upon such 



Representing South Lancashire, 261 

occasions, that he had never attacked any one in his life. He 
was interrupted by loud cries, in which the name of Peel was plain- 
ly heard ; and these became so numerous that he adroitly added 
the proviso, " unless I was first attacked." But even this prudent 
addition did not hush the cries. He talked of having fathomed 
a conspiracy between Ritualism and Popery to overthrow the 
throne ; and declared that as long as, by the favor of the Queen, 
he stood there, he would oppose this nefarious effort of Mr. 
Gladstone and his friends. 

Mr. Gladstone retorted that there were some parts of the 
Prime Minister's speech the relevancy of which he could not 
discern ; while others were due to a heated imagination. For 
himself, he did not wish to deny that he advocated the disestab- 
lishment of the Irish Church ; and he demanded that this Par- 
liament should at least prepare the way for that necessary meas- 
ure. 

The debate had lasted four nights before divisions were taken. 
In the two which were taken at the close of the discussion, the 
Government was defeated by majorities of fifty-six and sixty. 

The Liberals had not dared to hope for such a decisive major- 
ity. The party was now united as it had not been for a long 
time, and the popular feeling was largely with them in this ques- 
tion. But the Conservatives w T ere not willing to allow that they 
were wholly beaten, especially in the opinion of the people. If 
a Liberal meeting were held, a Conservative followed. Various 
means, not alwa} T s fair ones, were resorted to, to prove the Op- 
position in the wrong. Serious charges were circulated against 
the leader of the Liberal party. When he was at Rome, he had 
made arrangements with the Pope, being a Catholic at heart, to 
destroy the Established Church of Ireland ; he had publicly con- 
demned the support of the clergy in the three kingdoms out of 
public or Church funds; he had, when at Balmoral, refused to at- 
tend the Queen to church; he had received the thanks of the 
Pope for his course with regard to the Irish Church; and he was 
a member of a High-Church Ritualistic congregation. " These 
statements, one and all," wrote Mr. Gladstone, when they were 
brought to his knowledge, " are untrue in letter and in spirit, 
from beginning to end." 

Mr. Gladstone's resolutions were stigmatized as unconstitution- 
al by Lord Derb} T , who spoke in the House of Lords while the 
measures were yet uending in the Commons. When the debate 



262 Representing South Lancashire. 

was summed up, on the night when the first resolution was car- 
ried, Mr. Gladstone repelled this charge, and declared that he 
would not take the word of command from the House of Lords. 
Urging the resolution as a part of a policy which would add to 
the glory and strength of the Empire, he gave place to his rival, 
who merely reiterated his objections to disestablishment. The 
division followed the speeches of the two leaders, and the Op- 
position found that they had a majority of sixty-five. 

The decrease of the Government's strength was unmistakable, 
and Mr. Disraeli waited upon the Queen. The proper constitu- 
tional course, he told her, was to dissolve Parliament and appeal 
to the country, though at the same time he offered the resigna- 
nation of the Ministry; but if the House would co-operate with 
the Government, he thought it would be better to delay dissolu- 
tion until the Autumn. 

But this was by no means what the Liberals wanted and had 
worked for. Mr. Gladstone, Mr. Bright and Mr. Lowe protest- 
ed against this failure to dissolve at once under such circum. 
stances as unconstitutional ; but the Premier had laid his plans 
cunningly. To dissolve at once was to appeal to the existing 
constituencies; there must be an appeal very shortly to the con- 
stituencies established by the Reform Bill of the previous year, 
so that the new Parliament would sit for only a single very short 
session. Under such circumstances, the desired delay was grant- 
ed ; and the Ministers having agreed to confine themselves to 
such business as was absolutely necessary, the Opposition yield- 
ed the point. 

The remaining resolutions which Mr. Gladstone had intro- 
troduced were put and carried without serious opposition. The 
Ministers negatived them as a matter of course, as they were but 
corollaries of the first ; but there was no division. Then arose 
such a scene as the House of Commons has seldom beheld. A 
Scotch member, a Liberal, elated with the victory which had al- 
ready been gained, and thinking that matters might as well be 
pushed to the utmost, moved the abolition of the Maynooth 
grant and the regium donum (separate annual grants of public 
money by the Government to the Catholics and Presbyterian 
clergy in Ireland). This was more than Mr. Gladstone and his 
immediate adherents had bargained for, and the Liberals 
were at once re-divided among themselves. The Ministers 
walked out of the House, leaving the Opposition to fight out 



Representing South Lancashire. 263 

their civil war in their own way. The uproar was at its height. 
Bellowing, screeching, cheering, yelling, echoed and re-echoed 
in that hall which should have been the scene of dignified delib- 
eration. Everywhere there was extravagant gesticulation from 
members who had the floor, and members who wanted it. In the 
midst of the confusion the Prime Minister returned. His ex- 
pectations had been realized, he said, and the gentlemen on the 
opposite side of the House were now quarreling over their 
booty. But this sarcasm did not shame them ; it only added to 
the disorder; and in the midst of the confusion the Scotch mem- 
ber's rider to Mr. Gladstone's resolution was adopted. 

The Scotch Reform Bill necessitated some further changes in 
that measure which applied to the southern kingdom ; but these 
were passed without much opposition. There were some minor 
measures passed, and some of considerable importance to the 
country, such as the authorization of the purchase of the vari- 
ous telegraph lines; but none that are of interest in connection 
with our subject. Mr. Gladstone was too closely identified with 
that great measure which he finally passed, to speak at length on 
other topics. 

His Suspense Bill, which was preliminary to one abolishing 
the Establishment in Ireland, was at last introduced and passed 
the House by a majority of fifty-four ; but it was defeated in the 
House of Lords, where the Conservative element so far outnum- 
bers the Liberal. 

If there were exciting times in the House of Commons, the 
members were not free from cares connected with their seats 
when they had left St. Stephen's. Parliament was prorogued 
the last day of July, with a view to its dissolution the middle of 
November. The candidates at once proceeded to make their 
canvass. 

The election speeches of Mr. Disraeli and Mr. Gladstone, 
while nominally addressed to their special constituents, were of 
course meant as general expositions of the policy of their re- 
spective parties. As such, we need not quote them, as they 
dealt mainly with that great question which had defeated the 
Ministry. One sentence of a speech which Mr. Gladstone de- 
livered at St. Helen's is so apt a description of the Irish Church 
that we give it, alone: "You must not take away its abuses, be- 
cause, if you take them away, there will be nothing left." 
It was well known that the Conservatives would spare no ef- 



264 Representing South Lancashire. 

fort to defeat Mr. Gladstone in Southwest Lancashire. Though 
the weather was bitterly cold when the nominations took place, 
the space around the hustings was crowded. The Conservatives 
had displayed their wit upon numerous placards, which were en- 
joyed by Mr. Gladstone as well as by his enemies. " Bright' s 
Disease and Lowe Fever," " Time-table to Greenwich," and 
similar happy hits were to be seen. During Mr. Gladstone's 
speech of forty minutes, he was regaled with a choral perform- 
ance of the national anthem. Notwithstanding this, he proceed- 
ed, with much eloquence, to state the Liberal policy. 

While there was a great preponderance of feeling in favor of 
Mr. Gladstone at the hustings, the polls told a different story, 
and the foremost Liberal would have been left without a seat in 
Parliament, had not the Liberals of Greenwich, fearful of such a 
contingency, placed him in nomination and elected him by a 
triumphant majority. Other notable members of the party who 
were defeated at this election were the Marquis of Hartington 
and Mr. John Stuart Mill. 

But in spite of these notable single defeats, the Liberals had 
carried the day. More than half a million voters of the three 
kingdoms were the majority for the Opposition. Since 1832 no 
such party majority had been known. 

Under such circumstances, Mr. Disraeli did not think it nec- 
essary to wait until Parliament should assemble ; but at once 
tendered his resignation, and those of his coPeagues, to the 
Queen. There was no question as to who was to be his successor; 
for although Earl Russell was still a not inactive member of the 
House of Lords, he had practically renounced the leadership of 
the party. After him there was but one, the man who had been 
the most illustrious of his colleagues, who had occupied the most 
responsible post in the Administration which had resigned to 
make way for Derby and Disraeli. For him the Queen sent; 
and William Ewart Gladstone now reached that highest emin- 
ence attainable by a British subject — that of First Minister of 
the Crown, or, as more familiarly designated, Prime Minister of 
Great Britain. 




CHAPTER X. 

THE FIRST GLADSTONE MINISTRY. 

Prime Minister of England— Disestablishment of the Irish Church — Disraeli's 
Sarcasm — Eloquent Defense by John Bright — Opposition Among the 
Peers— Irish Land System— Bill for the Belief of Ireland— System of 
Education— English Tourists Seized by Greek Brigands— War Between 
France and Prussia — Bussia's Control of the Black Sea— Marriage of the 
Princess Louise— Army Begulation Bill — Tory Abuse of Mr. Gladstone — 
Ballot Bill— Proposal to Admit Women to the Franchise— Much Opposi- 
tion to the Government — Able Speeches by the Premier. 

E. GLADSTONE was fifty-nine years old the same 
month that he became Prime Minister of England for the 

^^ first time. There were scarcely any evidences of ad- 
vancing years to be seen in his face_ and he had all the fire of 
youth in his voice and manner. He was at the head of a power- 
ful party,which had come into office with a strength that had not 
been equalled for nearly forty years. His Government was a 
strong one; what might he not hope to accomplish ? 

When it was known that the Liberals were in the majority, no 
one had the least doubt but that Mr. Gladstone would be Prime 
Minister ; and it was equally certain that certain men would be 
included in his Cabinet. But there was considerable surprise ex- 
cited by one appointment which he made. This was the nomin- 
ation of John Bright to be President of the Board of Trade. It 
was thought that Mr. Bright would not consent to be hampered 
in the expression of his individual opinions, as a Cabinet Minis- 
ter must be when he is not in full accord with his colleagues; 
Lord Palmerston had humorously complained, some years be- 
fore this time, that a Prime Minister was no longer able to do just 
as he liked; men with consciences, ideas, abilities of their own, 
were in office, and would not consent to be the mere clerks of 
their chief. It was indeed with some reluctance that Mr. Bright 
accepted this po.st, and he was careful to explain to his constitu- 
ents that they must not think he had changed his opinions, if 
the measures of the Ministry were sometimes opposed to his 




Wm. E. Gladstone at Age of Fifty-nine. 



m 



The First Gladstone Ministry. 267 

known ideas, unless he himself should announce such modification 
to them. It had been originally planned to make him Secretary 
for India, but the possibility of circumstances arising in which he 
would be obliged to direct military operations made it desirable 
to place him in some office where he would not be called upon to 
do that which was in direct antagonism with his opinions as a 
member of the Society of Friends. 

If the Government was a strong one, it had need of all its 
strength. The task before it was an exceedingly difficult onej 
and although the policy of the party had been approved by such 
a vast majority of the people, there were not wanting those who 
regarded the disestablishment of the Irish church as an act of 
sacrilege, and did not hesitate to say so. At public meetings it 
was characterized as a wicked, ungodly and abominable measure, 
framed in a spirit of inveterate hostility to the Church, a great 
national sin, a dreadful thing, a perilous weakening of the foun- 
dations of property, which the Queen must, at all hazards, inter- 
fere to prevent, as she had better jeopardize her crown than de- 
stroy the Church. 

These were expressions used by bishops and other clergymen, 
and by noblemen, who were presumably civil-spoken. The laity 
of lower rank, as was to be expected, were even more unmeas- 
ured in their denunciations. The statements of the Liberal press 
and the Liberal speakers were lies j the members of the Govern- 
ment were traitors, robbers, political brigands ; if there were any 
form of abuse that was not used, it was because it was unknown 
to these zealous defenders of the Establishment. 

Mr. Gladstone, of course, paid not the slightest attention to 
these outcries of the defeated party. He gave notice that he 
should bring in his bill on the 1st of March. His speech occupied 
three hours in the delivery, but even Mr. Disraeli, who seems to 
have been in an unusually complimentary mood, admitted that 
there was not one sentence that the subject and the argument 
could have spared. 

The bill was a simple one, and seems to have been a justly 
framed measure. The Irish Church was to cease to exist as a 
State Establishment, and was to become a free Episcopal Church. 
The bishops would of course lose their seats in the House of 
Lords. A governing body, elected from the clergy and laity, 
would be recognized by the Government; the union between the 
English and Irish Churches was to be dissolved, and the Irish 



268 The First Gladstone Ministry. 

Ecclesiastical Courts were to be abolished. Then there were 
provisions for the disposal of the revenue in such a way as to 
prevent any injustice being done to those who had claims upon 
the Establishment. There would be a considerable surplus after 
all claims were satisfied, and it was proposed to use this to allev- 
iate unavoidable suffering in Ireland. There was some discussion 
with regard to this, as it was thought to be somewhat indefinite ; 
Mr. Gladstone spoke of making provision for the blind, the deaf 
and dumb, for reformatories, schools for the training of nurses 
and the support of county infirmaries. Of this disposition of 
the funds Mr. Bright was the ardent champion. 

Along with the Establishment, the Maynooth grant and the 
regium donum came to an end. "We have in a previous chapter 
spoken of the former; the latter was a royal allowance for the 
maintenance of Presbyterian ministers in Ireland. It had begun 
under the Stuarts, and been abolished under the same House; 
but was restored by William III., who had reason to be grateful 
to Irish Presbyterians. Both were small things, but their abolition 
established the equality of religious denominations in Ireland. 

The bill was of course resisted, but it was not such a resistance 
as is opposed when the Opposition has any hope of succeed- 
ing. Mr. Disraeli spoke, but his speech was characterized as 
" flimsiness relieved by spangles — the definition of a columbine's 
skirt." " He began in the philosophical vein," said the Times, 
which had given this definition; "and while we acknowledge 
that Mr. Disraeli's fun is exquisite, his philosophy is detestable," 
He had no faith in the possibility of success, it was evident to 
his hearers; the speech was a perfunctory one, a mere matter 
of form ; and contrasted badly, sparkling and bewildering in its 
conceits and illustrations as it was, with that in which the Prime 
Minister had introduced the measure, which was said at the time 
to be " a Parliamentary achievement unequalled even by him- 
self." 

But if Mr. Disraeli took little interest in the contest in which he 
had only to expect defeat, it was not so with some of his adher- 
ents. Mr. Gathorne Hardy, in particular, who is said to have 
been so constituted that he could see but one side of a question 
at a time, saw what was most decidedly the Conservative side 
of this one, and did not hesitate to say so, in a speech so filled 
with the conviction that this was an act of spoliation and sacri- 
lege that it was almost up to the level of eloquence. 



27*0 The First Gladstone Ministry. 

Mr. Bright was one of the most eloquent defenders of the 
measure. He spoke in reply to Mr. Disraeli's speech. Allud- 
ing to the statement that the Establishment was a protect- 
or of the freedom of religion and toleration, which had been 
advanced by the ex-Premier, he said that Mr. Disraeli " seem- 
ed to read a different history from everyone else, or else he 
made his own, and, like Voltaire, made it better without facts 
than with them." He closed what was justly called a magnificent 
oration, with a noble and dignified appeal, which, coming from 
any other lips, would have seemed daring, but which from him 
exercised a powerful and impressive effect upon the House. 

Mr. Lowe, who had come out of the Cave of Adullam long ago, 
and was now Chancellor of the Exchequer, made an attack up- 
on Mr. Disraeli, and proved to his own satisfaction, if not to that 
of the Conservative chief, that the Irish Church had neglected 
all its opportunities of conciliating the people. 

Mr. Gladstone reviewed the course of the debate. Mr. Hardy, 
he said, had, by his accusations of the Irish people, shown that 
he dare do what Burke would not attempt — "draw an indict- 
ment against a whole people." But even in this picture of the 
Irish people, which was little, if any, short of libellous, there 
were evils displayed for which Mr. Hardy had no remedy. He 
then went on to consider the charge that this bill would necessi- 
tate a change in the Coronation Oath, and showed the ground- 
lessness of that argument. One after another, the pleas which 
had been advanced for the maintenance of a Church in which the 
people had no part, save to be taxed for its support, were 
taken up and pulled to pieces. Mr. Gladstone showed that these 
arguments were like Mr. Disraeli's speech in one respect only — 
there was flimsiness without the spangles. 

The division was then taken. There was intense excitement 
throughout the House, though the Government was secure in a 
majority sufficient to carry the measure through. But the whips 
had been hard at work, and it was not known how this might be 
diminished. There were actually present in the House six hun- 
dred and twenty-two members, a numberwhich has seldom been 
exceeded, or even equalled. Much to the surprise of both sides, 
the majority was nearly double those of the previous year upon 
the same question ; and the progress of public opinion was clear- 
ly demonstrated. 

The further progress of the bill was slow, but sure, 1% was 



The First Gladstone Ministry. 271 

three months before the final reading came on, and it was at last 
adopted by the Commons. The ordeal of the House of Lords 
yet remained ; and for some time its fate was doubtful. Some of 
I the debates in the House of Lords are said to have been more in- 
teresting than those in the Commons. The hereditary legislators 
dared not set themselves directly against a clear expression of 
public opinion, but, mindful of the condition on which they are 
said to hold their power, contented themselves with discussing 
amendments. There was at one time a rumor that the Peers would 
reject or greatly delay the bill, and Mr. Bright wrote an angry let- 
ter on the subject, addressed to a Birmingham meeting, in which 
he said that if the Lords persisted in throwing themselves athwart 
the national course they might meet with accidents not pleasant 
for them to think of. The Peers were many of them shocked and 
scandalized that a Cabinet Minister should give such plain and 
forcible expression to his opinions, and it was made the subject 
of some sharp discussion among them as well as in the Com- 
mons. But the very publicity and unexpectedness of the 
menace gave it a force which made it irresistible. If Cab- 
inet Ministers had been in the habit of expressing themselves 
so openly when they held such opinions, there would have 
been nothing thought of it ; but even Palmerston, when he de- 
clared that the Lords should not be allowed to resist the will of 
the people, as expressed by the vote of the Commons, had put it 
into the form of a jest. Mr. Bright, however, had a peculiar priv- 
ilege in England ; he could say just what he meant. Perhaps this 
unusual permission was accorded him because it was well under- 
stood that he would do as he pleased anyhow. 

But the attacks which had been made upon the bill and its au- 
thor outside, were renewed in the House of Lords. The Earl of 
Winchelsea compared Mr. Gladstone to Jack Cade, and after 
hinting at the coming of an Oliver Cromwell, declared that he 
would go to the block before he would surrender. Lord Grey said 
that the Lords were humiliated and degraded. 

The passage of the Act for the Disestablishment of the Irish 
Church, introduced and carried within a space of five months, 
has been called the most remarkable legislative achievement of 
modern times. It was carried mainly by the resolute will and 
unflinching energy of the man with whom it had originated, and 
who had become Prime Minister because of it. 

But the thing could not end here. One reform is never ac- 







The Election Campaign — Mr. Gladstone in the Assembly Hall at Edinburgh. 



272 



The First Gladstone Ministry. 273 

eompiished without making another more necessary. There is 
no possibility of strict conservatism in politics; there must be 
progress, or there is retrogression. Having settled the question 
of the Irish Church, the Gladstone Government found itself face to 
face with the Irish Land Problem. It had carried the one; but even, 
the prestige of that victory would not avail them if they failed \ 
to do anything with the other. There had been some who said 
that the State Church was merely a sentimental grievance; but 
as an eminent Irish writer of the present day observes, if the 
land system were a grievance at all, it must be acknowledged 
that it was a terribly practical one. 

The Irish Land System is one which has seldom been under- 
stood, simply because a bare and simple statement of the facts 
seems incredible. The upholders of it have instanced landlords 
who were all that could be wished, just as the upholders of 
slavery in our own country brought forward hundreds of cases 
in which the slaves were better off before than after emancipa- 
tion ; it would of course be impossible to find any state of affairs, 
however crying the evil, where there were not good men whose 
conduct ameliorated the evil as fur as their influence extended; 
and there have been Irish landlords who have had consideration 
for their tenants, just as there were humane slaveholders. But 
a system which put such power into the hands of any body of 
men, some of whom were certain to misuse it, was at best a 
faulty one. 

The Irish tenant held his land at the will of his landlord. If 
he cultivated the land so as to raise a greater crop than it had 
before produced, he showed that it was of more value than the 
owner had supposed it was, and his rent was raised. If he put 
any improvements upon the place, he added to its value, and his 
rent was raised. If the little farm seemed a desirable holding 
to any one else, and an offer were made to the landlord or agent 
in accordance with this opinion, the unfortunate tenant had 
reason to congratulate himself that his rent was simply raised, 
and that he and his family were not turned adrift to shift for 
themselves. The demand was so great that men would offer any 
price for land — a price which they must have known they could 
not get out of it. True, there was but a slip-shod system of 
farming in vogue among them, but what more could be expected ? 
There was literally no room for improvement, until a better law 
should widen the limits of their exertions. 

18 



274 The First Gladstone Ministry. 

It was not so in all parts of Ireland. There was one province 
in which the stronger law of custom had overcome the weaker 
written rule. The principle of "tenant-right" prevail in Ulster 
— tenant-right, which Lord Palmerston, with more wit than hu- 
manity or justice, had defined as " landlord-wrong." A man was 
allowed to remain in possession as long as he paid his rent; he 
was entitled, on giving up his holding, to compensation for un- 
exhausted improvements ; and he was at liberty to sell what may 
be called the good-will of his farm for what it would bring in the 
market. Wherever this tenant-right principle prevailed, there 
was industry and prosperity ; where it was unknown, there were 
idleness and poverty, with discontent and crime as their natural 
consequences. 

How far the fact that this right had been asserted in Ulster and 
not in the other provinces was due to the character of the people, 
and how far the maintenance of it was due to the different 
estimation in which the inhabitants of the North and of the 
South were held in England, is a question which each must de- 
termine for himself. It is difficult to state one's opinion exactly 
without either unjustly accusing the English people of a re- 
ligious intolerance, which made any act of oppression seem justi- 
fiable, or, on the other hand, exonerating them from a charge 
which is not in all respects undeserved. 

Such was the state of affairs when, on the 15th of February, 
1870, Mr. Gladstone introduced his Irish Land Bill into the 
House of Commons. It was thought inefficient and unsatis- 
factory by some of the Irish members, and was for that reason 
opposed by them. The most that it did was to establish as the 
law for the whole island what custom had already made law in 
Ulster. Landlords, under certain conditions, were allowed to 
contract for themselves out of the provisions of the bill; and 
hence it arose that these opposing members appeared to be 
justified in their course by the fact that eventually there were 
more evictions, immediately after the passage of the bill, than 
there had been before. 

If the bill were regarded as a half-measure by the Irish, it was 
not so esteemed by the landlords, who declared it to be revolu- 
tionary. It put an end to the landlord's absolute power, and 
recognized that the Government could interfere with the right of 
the land-owner, to limit it for the good of the community, just as 
it can interfere for the same purpose with the rights of others. 



The First Gladstone Ministry. 275 

The bill was not put forward by the Government as a perfect 
measure. They had worked hard at it, Mr. Gladstone told the 
House, and it was the best that they could do ; but they invited, 
in perfect good faith, the co-operation of all parties and all mem- 
bers in its improvement. They desired that the measure should 
be a great boon to Ireland, and put an end to the grievances and 
sufferings which her people had so long endured. They had not 
knowingly proceeded in any spirit of partisanship ; and as they 
had afforded the occupier improved security of tenure, so they 
afforded the landlord a better security for his rent and for the 
better cultivation of his land. With regard to the Irish laborer, 
the only thing which they could hope to do for him — and it was 
a great thing — was to increase the demand for his labor; this 
woul'l be done by stimulating the agricultural interests of the 
country; a course which, by making more demand for labor, 
would raise the price of it. The landlord might suffer some at 
first; but he would not ultimately be the loser. He believed 
that there was a store of undeveloped wealth in the Irish soil, 
which could only be developed by the joint action of landlord 
and tenant. He hoped that this bill would be accepted by both 
classes, because it was just. He said that the Government hoped 
by this measure to effect a great change in Ireland, but to effect 
it by gentle means. Every line had been carefully studied, so 
that it should import as little as possible of violent shock or al- 
teration into the existent condition of things ; it was desired that 
the operation of the bill should be like that of nature, when she 
restores upon a desolated land what has been laid waste by the 
hand of man. This they knew could not be done in a day. The 
evils had grown up through a long period of time, and could not 
be suddenly corrected without injuring many innocent persons. 
That the bill might pass, it was necessary to view it, not as the 
triumph of one class over another, or of party over party, but 
as a common work of common love and good-will to the common 
good of the common country. The only enduring ties by which 
Ireland might be united to England and Scotland were freewill 
and free affection. 

The Opposition of course spoke against it with more or less 
effect — generally less. Sir Eoundell Palmer, while he described 
the bill as large and important, called it a humiliating neces- 
sity; Mr. Disraeli said that " a more complicated, a more clum- 
sy, or more heterogeneous measure was never yet brought before 



276 



The First Gladstone Ministry. 



the attention of Parliament." The scheme of course included 
some means of enforcing the changes which were made, and Mr. 
Disraeli described at length, and with some effect upon the risi- 
bilities of the House, the difficulties which would beset the 
courts thus established. 




^- <^S$S§^ HIV 

Sir Roundell Palmer {afterward Lord Selborne). 

In closing the debate, Mr. Gladstone had few arguments to re- 
ply to ; the speeches of his opponents had been mainly invec- 
tive. One portion of this speech well deserves place in our re- 
cord, as an expression of the Government's duty: 

" It is our desire to be just, but to be just we must be just to 
all. The oppression of a majority is detestable and odious; the 
oppression of a minority is only by one degree less detestable 
and odious, The face of Justice is like that of the god Janus. It 



The First Gladstone Ministry. 211 

is like the face of those lions, the work of Landseer, which keep 
watch and ward around the record of our county's greatness. 
She presents the tranquil and majestic countenance towards 
every point of the compass and every quarter of the globe. That 
rare, that noble, that imperial virtue has this above all other 
qualities, that she is no respecter of persons, and she will not 
take advantage of an unfavorable moment to oppress the wealthy 
for the sake of flattering the poor, any more than she will con- 
descend to oppress the poor for the sake of pampering the luxur- 
ies of the rich." 

The Opposition had not intended to divide, but a division was 
forced upon them, with an extraordinary result. Mr. Disraeli 
and many of his.influential supporters went into the lobby with 
Mr. Gladstone, so that the whole number of votes for the Gov- 
ernment the first reading was four hundred and forty-two. The 
teller on the other side had an unusually easy time of it, for he 
had but eleven men to reckon over. 

When the bill went into committee, there was more serious op- 
position. There were no fewer than three hundred amendments 
moved; one of which, proposed by Mr. Disraeli, Mr. Gladstone 
declared was an effort to overthrow one of the cardinal principles 
of the bill. Upon a division on this question the Government 
had a majority of seventy-six. 

The further discussions in the House of Commons, prolonged 
as they were, did not affect the fortunes of the bill, which went 
up to the Lords at the end of May. It passed the Upper 
House without important alteration, and received the royal as- 
sent on the 1st of August. 

Mr. Gladstone had said some time before this that the Irish 
Upas-tree had three Branches — the Established Church, the 
Land System, and the System of Education ; and that he meant 
to hew them all down if he could. The figure met with not a 
little ridicule at the time it was used, but it expressed a resolute 
purpose, which was now two-thirds accomplished. Perhaps, in 
view of the principle before enunciated, that one reform is al- 
ways followed by another, it would be nearer the truth to say 
that his purpose was almost accomplished; for certainly the dis- 
establishment of the Irish Church, and the change which had 
been effected in the tenure of land, had gone a long way toward 
preparing men's minds for the fall of the third branch of that 
deadly tree. 



278 The First Gladstone Ministry. 

The second important measure which had passed the House 
during this session related to elementary education in England 
and Wales, which was in a very unsatisfactory condition. The 
Government bill which was introduced by Mr. Forster, was 
based upon the principle of direct compulsory attendance. The 
Government and the Opposition agreed so cordially about this 
measure that the ire of some of the Liberals was aroused, and 
the Ministry were charged with having thrown the Non-confor- 
mists overboard, in order to secure the support of the Conserva- 
tives. The Premier had led one section of the Liberal party 
through the Valley of Humiliation, complained Mr. Miall, speak- 
ing on behalf of the Non-conformists, and they would not again 
be betrayed by him. " Once bit, twice shy," he concluded, " and 
we can't stand this sort of thing much longer." 

This speech stung the Premier to an unusually sharp retort. 
If they thought it better to withdraw for the sake of the cause 
which they had at heart, let them withdraw from the support of 
the Government. The Government did not want their support 
any longer than it was consistent with their own sense of duty 
and right. But when the Government thought that Mr. Miall 
and his companions had the interests of the communities which 
they represented too much at heart, to the detriment of the gen- 
eral interests, the Ministry which was willing to co-operate 
with them for the common good of all, could no longer aid 
them; they must then recollect that they were the Government 
of the Queen, and propose to themselves no meaner nor narrower 
object than the welfare of the Empire at large. 

The measure eventually passed both houses, and became law, 
in spite of the protests of Messrs. Miall & Co. 

A profound sensation was created in England by an outrage 
which was perpetrated in Greece during the spring of this year. 
A party of English tourists was seized by Greek brigands, and 
held for an enormous ransom in money coupled with a demand 
for certain immunities. An effort to rescue them resulted in the 
murder of the prisoners. The matter being formally brought to 
the attention of Parliament, the Government interfered with 
such effect as to secure the execution of many brigands, and al- 
most complete extirpation of the band immediately implicated. 
It was thought at the time that this would lead to a complete in- 
vestigation o-f the condition of Greece, but the stirring events 
elsewhere during the latter portion of the year caused it to be 



The First Gladstone Ministry. 



279 



forgotten by all except those families to whom it was a matter of 
sad interest, and who were obliged to content themselves with many 
sincere expressions of public sympathy. 

During the latter days of the session of 1870, there arose the 
dispute concerning the succession to the Spanish crown which 
ended in the Franco- Prussian War. Isabella II. had abdicated 




Emperor Napoleon III. 

in favor of her eldest son, Alphonso, Prince of the Asturias ; who 
was for some time a resident of England and a student at Wool- 
wich ; his nominal accession not bringing the cares of state 
with it for some years afterward. But the Powers were speedily 
busying themselves to find a successor to Isabella, whose forced 
abdication was due to circumstances which naturally drove the 
whole family from Spain, for the time at least. Prince Leopold 



280 The First Gladstone Ministry. 

of Hohenzollern was nominated, but the candidacy of a Prus« 
sian prince filled France with alarm. Thence arose the quarrel ; 
and even Leopold's withdrawal did not mend matters, as the 
Emperor persisted in making demands which the King of Prus- 
sia was unable to grant. Napoleon III. was smarting under the 
disgrace which had attached to his recent desertion of Maximilian, 
and had resulted in the deposition and execution of the Mexican 
Emperor : he had for some time been endeavoring to regain the 
ground thus lost, but vainly; a war would give him military pres- 
tige; and he determined upon war. 

A very short time was sufficient to show that whatever military 
prestige the war might give was not for Napoleon III. In six 
weeks after the formal declaration was made, Napoleon was a 
prisoner, Eugenie a fugitive, France a republic. The sym- 
pathies of the English were at first with Prussia ; and England 
had taken no small part in upholding the claims of Leopold. The 
Government, however, determined to preserve a strict neutrality. 
But the popular sentiment changed, and set strongly in favor of 
France, when the interests of that country were once divorced from 
the fortunes of the wily trickster so long at the head of her Govern- 
ment, and who was so generally disliked and distrusted by the mass 
of the English people. It was felt that Prussia, or rather Ger- 
many (for we must after this date speak of the empire of which the 
kingdom was the nucleus) had gone too far in its efforts to 
humiliate a conquered people ; and the popular voice became 
clamorous on the other side. The English seem to have been in a 
warlike humor at this time, and determined to fight some one, it 
did not much matter who it might be; but fortunately for the 
nation, the good sense of the men at the head of affairs preserved 
her neutrality, and saved her from the curse of war. 

Parliament was prorogued Aug. 10th, although much of the 
legislation which the Government had desired to carry through 
had been abandoned for lack of time. Two great reforms, how- 
ever, had been accomplished in the passage of the acts relating to 
the Irish Land System and to elementary education ; and it was 
likely that a Ministry which had begun with making such changes 
would not be content with the laurels thus acquired, but would 
with renewed energies attack other abuses. 

There is one action of the Premier's during this session which 
deserves to be recorded, as an instance of the difference between 
the Gladstonian and the Tory views of the treatment of political 




281 



282 The First Gladstone Ministry. 

prisoners. The Fenians had actually offended against the laws, 
not only of the British Empire, but against those broader prin- 
ciples which are at the bottom of every legal system. They were 
in actual and open rebellion against constituted authority. As 
long, therefore, as that authority could uphold itself, just so long 
their rebellion was not revolution ; and they must be punished as 
traitors. Whatever be our personal feelings with regard to the 
efforts which have been made, from time to time, for the libera- 
tion of Ireland, we must acknowledge that any government must 
punish rebels against its authority or consent to forego its right 
to govern. But with a generosity to the fallen, and with a wise 
recollection that persecution only strengthens a cause, Mr. Glad- 
stone declined to prosecute the prisoners who were accused of 
treason. They would be released on condition of their not re- 
maining in the United Kingdom, or returning to it. This course, 
he said in his letter to the Lord Mayor of Dublin, he believed 
was " perfectly compatible with the paramount interests of pub- 
lic safety, and, being so, will tend to strengthen the cause of 
peace and loyalty in Ireland." 

During the recess, the Government had to deal with the vexed 
question of Russia's control of the Black Sea. The Czar had de- 
clined to recognize its neutrality any longer, and it was necessary 
for the Powers to take some action for the protection of Turkey 
and their own interests. A conference was held in London to 
discuss the question ; and the assembled diplomats wisely con- 
cluded that as the Euxine was only a Russian lake anyhow, do 
what they would, the Powers might as well let that member of 
their body have control of it. There were certain concessions 
demanded for the Porte, and these, being chiefly matters of 
form, were granted ; the Porte was permitted to open the Dar- 
denelles and the Bosphorus for the passage of vessels of war of 
friendly and allied powers, in case it should be necessary for the 
maintenance of the treaty which closed the Crimean War; but 
the power of Russia was too great to be easily limited. 

At the opening of the session of 1871, Mr. Disraeli severely 
criticised the foreign policy of the Government. The naval force 
particularly was the subject of his amusing sarcasm; and he en- 
tertained the House with an account of the "attenuated arma- 
ment" which made impossible an armed neutrality. Mr. Glad- 
stone retorted that what he now called an attenuated armament 
he had characterized as a bloated armament ten years before; 



The First Gladstone Ministry. 283 

and showed conclusively that England was not to blame for not 
having secured the strict neutrality of the Black Sea, since all 
the Powers besides were opposed to the continuance of a state of 
affairs which all the statesmen of the day , including Lord Clarendon 
and Lord Palmerston, had believed would be only temporary. 

The foreign policy continued to be the subject of discussion 
for some time, though the Leader of the Opposition would not 
bring the thing to a head by moving an amendment to the Ad- 
dress, or by any course which would cause a division to be taken. 
Mr. Herbert, however, soon brought forward a motion affirming 
that the House thought it the duty of the Government to inter- 
fere, together with other neutral Powers, to secure terms of 
peace as favorable as possible for the vanquished in the war 
which had cost Napoleon III. his throne. Mr. Gladstone answer- 
ed that the attitude of the Government had not been one of self- 
ish isolation, as the speaker had stigmatized it ; that concerted ac- 
tion with Russia was impossible ; that an extorted peace was what 
England had to fear; that the greater the magnanimity shown 
by the victor, the better it would be for all the neutral Powers, 
as well as for Germany herself; that neither of the belligerents 
desired the intervention of others; that England had no cause 
to be discontented with the position which she occupied in Eu- 
rope, but that the action of neutrals, to be effective, must be con- 
certed. Mr. Herbert finally expressed himself satisfied with the 
position of England, as stated by Mr. Gladstone, and withdrew 
his motion. 

The marriage of the Princess Louise occurred in March of 
this year, and Parliament was of course asked to make some 
provision for her. The proposed grant aroused the opposition 
of some members, who affirmed that they represented the inter- 
ets and sentiments of a considerable number of the people. The 
position of the ministry was warmly supported by its head, 
who defended the moderate nature of the grant asked for, and 
showed with what economy the royal expenditure was managed. 
He also dwelt upon the value of a stable dynasty, and the un- 
wisdom of making calculations of a minute nature upon such oc- 
casions. Whether the opposing members were converted to this 
view of the question, or simply absented themselves when it 
came to a vote, does not appear ; but when the resolution forthe 
marriage portion came to be reported, there was but one dissent- 
ing voice in a House of three hundred and fifty-one members. 




Statue of Mr, Gladstone in St. George's Hall, Liverpool. 



>M 




MRS. WILLIAM EWART GLADSTONE 



The First Gladstone Ministry. 285 

The condition of affairs in Ireland again commanded the atten- 
tion of the Government. The special difficulty at this time was 
the spread of an agrarian conspiracy in Westmeath and the ad- 
joining counties. A motion was made for a committee to inquire 
into the existing state of affairs there, Lord Hartington, who 
was Chief Secretary for Ireland, admitting that it was with feel- 
ings of painful dismay that he did so. The lawless condition of 
things in that particular section, however, was no criterion of the 
general condition of the country. Crime had subsided, and the 
constabulary reports evidenced a marked improvement. In West- 
meath, and the adjoining parts of Meath and King's County, how- 
ever, the state of things had become intolerable, and the appoint- 
ment of a committee was desired by the Government, so that when 
further powers were asked for, it would be certain that such ad- 
ditional authority was necessary for the maintenance of the 
peace. The policy of the Government was bitterly condemned 
by Mr. Disraeli and Mr. Hardy, who seems to have been at this 
time the right-hand man of the Tory leader. The Chief of the 
Opposition said that Mr. Gladstone was regarded by his party 
as having possession of the philosopher's stone, so far as Irish 
affairs were concerned ; that he had come into power with an im- 
mense majority, for the express purpose of securing the tran- 
quility and content of that country; that neither time, labor, 
nor devotion had been begrudged him ; that under his influence, 
and at his instance, Parliament had legalized confiscation, conse- 
crated sacrilege, and condoned high treason ; destroyed church- 
es, shaken property to its foundations, and emptied jails ; and 
now he could not govern Ireland, without coming to Parliament 
for a committee. After all his heroic exploits, and at the head 
of his great majority, he was making Government ridiculous. 

Mr. Hardy's denunciations were hardly less unmeasured. Mur- 
der was stalking abroad, he said ; the Government was becoming 
contemptible; with much more to the same effect. Mr. Glad- 
stone, who has always appeared to be as nearly insensible to per- 
sonal attacks as it is possible for a man to be, and to content him- 
self with defending the policy advocated by him, replied to 
these intemperate speeches with his accustomed coolness. Mr. 
Hardy's heated language was rebuked; but that was the duty of 
the Head of the Government which had been so insultingly 
characterized; and he announced that the Government could 
not, consistently with its sense of duty, withdraw the motion 



286 The First Gladstone Ministry. 

for a committee. Mr. Disraeli's expressions seem to us severe; 
but Mr. Gladstone was happy to learn that the right honorable 
gentleman had got down to expressions so moderate and judicial 
as " legalized confiscation and consecrated sacrilege," after the 
language which he had used in opposing the disestablishment of 
the Irish Church. Mr. Disraeli had admitted that in 1852 he had 
not adopted the means which he believed most suitable for the 
protection of life and property in the, three counties of Ireland, 
because the Government was weak. Mr. Gladstone made most 
effective use of this admission ; and concluded by saying that the 
Government, acting upon its immediate elementary obligations, 
to secure personal peace and freedom in the transactions of life, 
felt assured of the endorsement of the House. 

In a humorous speech by a member of the Opposition, the 
Cabinet was described as consisting chiefly of " Whig Marion- 
ettes;" the same speaker alluded to the changes which had been 
made in that organization as similar to a shuffling which left 
them in the same positions as at first. Over the door was plainly 
written the legend, "No Irish need apply." The Solicitor-Gen- 
eral replied to these strictures in a speech which was an argu- 
ment ad hominem; saying that if the last speaker were given an 
office he would speedily become a supporter of the Government; 
and that his boast that he was a member for an Irish constituen- 
cy, and his self-gratulations on that honor, would last till the 
next general election. This rejoinder seems to have silenced the 
Opposition, whose chief strength lay in personal attacks; and 
the committee was appointed. After events fully justified the 
course of the Government in this respect. 

An Army Regulation Bill was introduced by Mr. Cardwell, the 
Minister for War. This was the topic which excited the most in- 
terest of the session. His scheme for the reconstruction of the 
army included several changes of importance. The various 
branches of the service, regular troops, militia, volunteers, and 
reserve, were to be combined under one system of discipline. 
But the point which excited the most opposition was the pro- 
vision that the purchase system should be abolished. This was 
a great abuse, which, like other abuses, had grown up so gradual- 
ly that it has come to be looked upon by many as a necessary con- 
dition of the existence of the army. An officer bought his first 
commission, he bought his promotions, step by step. Mr. Card- 
well's bill proposed to do away with this, and substitute pro- 



The First Gladstone Ministry. 



287 



motion by merit and seniority. Commissions were looked upon as 
vested interests, as personal property, for the holders of them 
had bought them, and expected to sell them on promotion or re- 
tirement. 

The abolition of the purchase system had been advocated by 
generations of reformers, but without success. Because the army, 
when this was the rule, contrived to get along and do its duty in 
some sort of fashion, there were not wanting those who stoutly 
maintained that it was necessary ; that if it were abolished, the 
army would waste away, and the military glory of Britain be 
forever at an end. For many years past there had been a motion 
for its abolition made an- ___ 

nually by Sir DeLacy 
Evans; but his unweari- 
ed persistence came to be 
the laughing stock of 
many. Mr. Trevelyan had 
supported it, and Lord 
Stanley, whose cool good 
sense saw the advantages 
of the reform, had been 
its friend. But there were 
none of these who had 
both the will and the 
power to press the sub- 
ject upon Parliament in 
such a way that there 
was no getting rid of it. 

Mr. Gladstone, on his accession to power, had resolved to in- 
clude it in the list of reforms to be attempted by his Govern- 
ment. Of course it was bitterly opposed. It was essentially a 
Liberal measure, in the sense that the Liberal party is the repre- 
sentative of the people as opposed to the aristocracy, of which 
the Conservative or Tory party is the natural exponent. As such 
the reform was acrimoniously opposed by the Conservatives, who 
were convinced that the aristocratic system was the only one 
under which the English army could prosper; that promotion by 
merit was too French or too American, or at any rate too un-En- 
glish. They therefore proposed all manner of amendments, and 
offered all kinds of obstructions. The same arguments were re- 
peated again and again, almost in the same words. Besides the 




Rt. Hon. Edward Cardwell, 



288 The First Gladstone Ministry. 

other objectionable features, it was far from being an economical 
measure, as the Government would be obliged to expend a large 
sum of money to re-purchase commissions held at the time that 
the system should be abolished. The Liberal Government had 
frequently been censured by the Opposition for its pinching par- 
simony, but here was an instance of unnecessary extravagance; 
and the Conservative orators made the most of it. Meanwhile, 
the session was wearing along ; if the matter were not speedily 
settled, it would lie over until the next session, when it would 
have to be taken up again with all the disadvantage which at- 
taches to a bill abandoned in one session and brought up again 
by the same Ministry in the next. The Government accordingly 
resolved to abandon the greater part of its complicated scheme 
for the reorganization of the army. The part of the bill which 
was nearest the heart of the Premier, was that which related to 
the purchase system ; and this was almost all that was retained. 
Shorn of its fair proportions it passed the second reading, 
though not by a very large majority. Meanwhile the Lords had 
been looking on with alarm. If this reform were demanded by 
the Commons, they could not long resist it ; but something must 
be done to express their sense of the national danger. The bill 
had not yet come before them for action, it is tru t e ; but for that 
they could not wait. At a sort of caucus of Conservative Peers, 
it was resolved that the Government should be asked for further 
information before the Lords considered the bill. It was worded 
cunningly ; they did not object to the bill ; they simply asked to 
what it was to lead. The amendment of the Lords was adopted, 
and the bill was got rid of for the present. 

Meanwhile, Mr. Gladstone was the object of a good deal of abuse 
by the ultra Tories who so strenuously opposed the reform. The 
reason for this was the course which he took to defeat the Lords. 
It was an ingenious plan, the audacity of which almost took 
away the breath of the Opposition. Mr. Gladstone announced 
that as the system of purchase was the creation of royal regula- 
tion, he had advised the Queen to take the decisive step of can- 
celling the royal warrant which made purchase legal. 

It was a blow for the House of Lords. Having made public 
beforehand what they were going to say, they found that there was 
no chance to say it. The only part of the bill which remained was 
that relating to the compensation of officers, but which had been 
deprived of their money value ; to refuse to pass this would sim- 




19 



289 



290 The First Gladstone Ministry. 

ply be to refuse the officers, for whose interests they were' con- 
tending, the one small compensation which the Government would 
give them. Nothing was left for the House of Lords but to pass 
the bill as quickly as possible, and this they did ; coupling its 
passing, however, with a resolution announcing that it was pass- 
ed only in order to secure to officers of the army the compensa- 
tion they were entitled to receive, and censuring the Govern- 
ment for having obtained, by the exercise of the Royal Preroga- 
tive, and without the aid of Parliament, that which Parliament 
was not likely to have granted. 

When the course of the Government was announced in the 
House of Commons, it was received after a moment of bewilder- 
ment with a wild outburst of Liberal exultation. It was at once 
felt to be a splendid party triumph. But after the first enthusi- 
asm of victory was over, there were not a few Liberals who, 
looking at it more coolly, saw it with less favorable eyes. It was 
then felt to have been an act of tyranny, almost ; it was the ex- 
ercise of the Prerogative to combat the will of Parliament. Of 
course, Mr. Disraeli and his adherents were the first to utter 
such censures, but they were echoed by men who had heretofore 
supported the Government. 

Among the opponents of this course of proceeding, who had 
been counted among Mr. Gladstone's own friends, was Mr. Faw- 
cett, whose eminence as a Parliamentary debater was achieved 
in spite of disadvantages (he was totally blind) which would have 
deterred many a man from the attempt. He was a thorough Lib- 
eral in principles, but absolutely independent of the expedients 
and sometimes of the mere discipline of party. If he believed 
that the Liberal Ministers were going wrong, he censured them 
as freely as if they had been Tories; on this occasion he felt 
strongly about the course which Mr. Gladstone had pursued, and 
did not hesitate to condemn it before the House. 

Mr. Disraeli had characterized the action of the Government, 
and had reserved, until further consideration, the more objec- 
tionable epithet, illegal. There was no question of the legality 
of this step, however. At the advice of her principal Minister, 
the Queen had exercised what was undoubtedly her constitution- 
al power. It was strictly in accordance with the forms which 
custom had prescribed. But it was generally felt to be an unfair 
course, one not sanctioned by the spirit of the constitution which 
had grown up by such slow degrees. The unfairness lay in this: 



The First Gladstone Ministry. 



291 



while the measure was before Parliament, to which it had been 
submitted with the tacit intimation, implied in its being pro- 




Pro/. Fawcett. 

posed to the Houses, that their decision would be accepted, it 
was suddenly, upon the first hint of their rejection, taken from 
their jurisdiction, and placed in an entirely different position. If 



292 The First Gladstone Ministry. 

the decision of the Lords and Commons were not to be final, 
the question should not have been submitted to them at all, but the 
Koyal Prerogative invoked in the first place. 

Certainly the reform was a much needed one, and the most vio- 
lent Tory would not now desire the restoration of the system 
which was thus abolished; but whether or not Mr. Gladstone 
was justified in the means which he used for its abolition, is an- 
other question. It was doing evil that. good might come; and 
that which is wrong in a moral point of view can hardly be 
right in politics. Had he not taken this course, there would 
certainly have been delay ; the Lords would probably have re- 
jected the bill ; but it would have been for one session only. If 
it were re-introduced the next session, it would again be carried 
by the Commons, and the Peers would not again dare to reject a 
bill thus doubly approved by the representatives of the people ; 
possibly it would have passed the Upper House the same session, 
though not, of course, immediately. 

Whatever judgment we may now express on the matter, it was 
a course which brought about its own result. It was the cause of 
considerable loss of strength by the Government, whose major- 
ity was rapidly waning. 

Another important measure which was brought before the 
House this session was the Ballot Bill. This dragged its slow 
length along the House of Commons, violently opposed by the 
Conservatives, and amended until it was but the skeleton of the 
original measure. It then went up to the Lords, where it was 
rejected by a considerable majority. 

The Lords had rejected the University Tests Bill which had 
been introduced the previous year, but a measure which was 
substantially the same was again introduced by Mr. Gladstone 
this session, and finally carried. The Peers amended it, but the 
Commons rejected the amendment ; then the Lords rejected the 
very amendment which they themselves had proposed, and the 
bill went through. The substance of this bill was that all lay 
students, of whatever creed, should thereafter be admitted to the 
universities on equal terms. 

A bill to admit women to the franchise was proposed this ses- 
sion, but rejected. In a speech on the subject, the Premier 
caused a commotion in the House by the assertion of his opinion 
that if the ballot were established, he did not see why the fran- 
chise could not be extended to women. 



The First Gladstone Ministry. 



293 



Mr. Miall, the same ISTon-conformist who had threatened to 
leave the Liberal party, and who had been told by its head that he 
was at liberty to do so, brought forward a bill for the disestab- 
lishment of the Church of England. This was opposed by both 
Disraeli and Gladstone. The former announced his belief that 




Mr. Edward Miall. 

the great majority, both in the House and in the country, were 
in favor of the Church ; and he opposed the motion more for the 
sake of the State than of the Church. The Premier said that 
the Government was emphatically opposed to the motion, and 
showed clearly the distinction between the Irish Church, which 
had been a foreign church, engrafted by conquerors upon the 
people, and the English Church, which was essentially a nation- 
al institution, and had grown up with the nation. Space does 



294 The fiirst Gladstone Ministry. 

not permit us to quote his eloquent words defending the Church 
from this assailant; he claimed it was the mere effort of a dis- 
contented sect to do away with what was firmly established r u 
the hearts of the people. 

There had been considerable trouble with the United States 
which at one time appeared to be growing beyond the bounds 
of peace. The United States Government had always resented 
the part which England took in the War between the States, 
claiming that neutrality was not preserved. We have already 
spoken of the manner in which the Alabama was built and sent 
out to sea, notwithstanding the protests of the United States 
representative. The British Government was held to be re- 
sponsible for depredations which it had not tried to prevent. 
There were other subjects of dispute which had arisen, and each 
tended to make the others harder to settle peaceably. The 
threatened rupture was averted by a treaty concluded at Washing- 
ton in May of this year, by which it was agreed to refer the dispu- 
ted claims to two boards of arbitration, established by the treaty. 

The Government was fated to sustain some severe defeats on 
several different questions. One of these was on the match tax. 
The abolition of purchase in the army made the estimated ex- 
penditure much larger than it had been in time of peace, and it 
was proposed in the budget of this year to meet the additional 
expense by means of a tax upon matches. There was a general 
outcry against this impost, which threatened, indeed, the whole 
trade. Mr. Lowe, who was Chancellor of the Exchequer, finally 
found himself compelled to abandon this scheme, and to substi- 
tute an increase in the income tax for it. Several bills on finan- 
cial subjects were abandoned by the Government when their 
failure became apparent. 

A motion which proposed to secure the uninclosed portions of 
Epping Forest as an open space for the enjoyment of the people 
of the metropolis, was opposed by the Government, Mr. Glad- 
stone stating that the Government had secured one thousand 
acres of the inclosure as a pleasure ground for the public; but 
the motion was carried by a considerable majority. 

The loss of the Captain and the Magcera caused the Admiralty 
to be gravely censured, but the conduct of the Board was elab- 
orately defended. This was the last action of interest on the 
part of the Government or the Opposition, and the session came 
to an end early in August. 



The First Gladstone Ministry. 295 

During the recess, Mr. Gladstone was again called upon to 
disavow membership of the Church of Eome. While he was for 
a longtime, perhaps, the most popular of all Englishmen, he 
was well hated by a small portion of his countrymen, who nev- 
er lost an opportunity of villifying him. The reader will find 
an instance of one of these haters by reading Jenkin's work on 
the subject of the great statesman's life 3 if that author's state- 
ments and sentiments are not here quoted, it is because they 
have not the value which criticisms uttered at the time of any 
particular action must have, and do not seem to be in other re- 
spects worthy of the space which they would require. 

The question as to whether he was a member of the Catholic 
Church was put to him in a letter by Mr. Whalley, on behalf of 
his constituents of Peterborough. Mr. Gladstone, in reply, 
pointed out the insult which was contained in this question; 
since it presupposed that he had systematically concealed his re- 
ligion, professing to belong to another church. He concluded : 
a If I have said this much upon the present subject, it has been 
out of personal respect to you. For I am entirely convinced 
that while the question you have put to me is in truth an insult- 
ing one, you have put it only from having failed to notice its 
true character, since I have observed during my experience of 
many years that, even when you undertake the most startling 
duties, you perform them in the gentlest and most considerate 
manner." The last sentence irresistibly recalls one of Disrael's 
happiest epigrammatic speeches or letters. The member for Pe- 
terborough was generally and severely condemned for permit- 
ting himself to be made the mouthpiece of such an uncalled for 
inquisition into Mr. Gladstone's religious opinions. 

A speech of Mr. Gladstone's made during this recess has a 
peculiar interest, in connection with the attitude which he after- 
wards took upon a similar question ; and his course upon this 
subject shows that capacity for growth which is manifested by 
few states men, unless they be of the highest rank. In receiving 
the Freedom of the City of Aberdeen, he alluded to the cry of 
the Irish for Home Eule. He said that he did not quite know 
what was meant by Home Eule ; but he was glad to know em- 
phatically that it did not mean a dismemberment of the Em- 
pire ; and he hoped that all who heard him felt the same, and 
intended that the United Kingdom should remain united. The 
Irish people were more or less liable to become from time to 



29G The First Gladstone Ministry. 

time the victims of this or that political delusion; but there was 
nothing that Ireland had asked which this Parliament had re- 
fused. There were no inequalities between England and Ire- 
land, he maintained, except such as were in favor of the latter. 
But if the doctrines of Home Rule were to be admitted with re- 
spect to Ireland, he did not see why they should not be admit- 
ted with respect to Scotland and Wales, the latter especially as 
the people generally spoke the national tongue. Ireland might 
be conciliated, but Parliament had a higher duty to be perform- 
ed than was included in conciliation ; it had to do its duty, and 
if this were done, and it set itself right with the national con- 
science, with the opinion of the world, and with the principles 
of justice, its position would bo invulnerable, whether Ireland 
were conciliated or not. To this speech even the most inveter- 
ate Home Ruler can give assent, affirming that when this is done 
Ireland will bo satisfied j that the opinion of the world, and 
the principles of justice require all that Ireland demands; and 
that if the national conscience fell short, so much the worse for 
the regulators of it. 

Mr. Gladstone defended the course of the Government in sev- 
eral other speeches during the recess; but the very fact that it 
required defense was in itself significant. The popularity of the 
Ministry was declining; many of the soberer Whigs were alarm- 
ed at the reforms which had been carried through. The more 
conservative members of the party were out of breath with the 
rapidity with which they had been hurried along from the abo- 
lition of one abuse to another; and they had begun to think 
that the Premier was a dangerously brilliant statesman. It was 
this feeling which induced a considerable number of his own 
constituents of Greenwich to draw up a petition requesting him to 
resign his seat for that borough. A meeting was called at the 
Lecture Hall in support of this requisition ; but the Liberals re- 
pudiated all connection with the movement, and after a scene 
of considerable violence, the tables were turned upon the dis- 
satisfied Whigs, and a vote of confidence was passed, which was 
received with a volley of cheers for the distinguished representa- 
tive. 

Perhaps the reason of this decrease in popularity was due to 
the elements of which the Cabinet was composed. Mr. Lowe 
and Mr. Ayrton particularly, were hard to deal with; for al- 
though they were both men of unquestioned ability, they were 



The First Gladstone Ministry. 297 

not skillful in reading the popular pulse. However able were 
the measures which they advocated, they were almost sure to 
be such as could not by any possibility be carried. To make 
him responsible for the actions of such subordinates was to im- 
pose upon the First Minister of the Crown a burden such as no 
man could bear for many months. 

During October of this year Mr. Gladstone made his famous 
speech on Blackheath, to an audience of some twenty thousand 
persons. This address, which was in the main a review of the 
history of the last Parliamentary session, occupied two hours in 
its delivery. Mr. Gladstone was introduced to the vast assem- 
bly by Mr. Angerstein, but such was the confusion that not one 
word of the introduction could be heard ten feet away. There 
was loud cheering when Mr. Gladstone stood forth 5 but in the 
intervals there was heard a steady, persistent hissing. As he 
seemed about to speak, an intense silence fell upon the vast 
crowd ; but the first word that he uttered was a signal for a fear- 
ful din. From all around the skirts of the crowd arose some- 
thing between a groan and a howl; while, as if to drown this, 
the Liberals present again began to cheer. Still in the intervals 
between the cheering was heard the hissing. At last there came 
to them something of a sense of shame, at not allowing this 
man to be heard in his own defense. While the battle had raged 
so fiercely between the two conflicting sounds, Mr. Gladstone 
had stood looking straight at the excited crowd — calm, resolute, 
patient. Perhaps it was this bearing which gained him a hearing 
at last. At any rate the confusion subsided, and after that he 
may be said to have had it all his own way. Of course, there 
were instances when he was interrupted by their cries, but 
they were comparatively few. When at length the speech was 
over, and the question was put, it being substantially whether 
Mr. Gladstone had cleared away from the minds of his constit- 
uents the fog of prejudice and ill-feeling that unquestionably 
encircled him and his Ministry, the affirmative reply was given 
in bursts of tumultuous cheering, as earnest as ever greeted and 
satisfied any political leader. He had thrown himself upon the 
sympathies of the great mass of the people, and their verdict had 
not disappointed him. 

This unpopularity of the Ministry did not mean that they had 
deserved the censure of the people. The Liberal Government 
bad come into existence because the people demanded that cer- 




Mr. Gladstone Beading the Lessons at Hawarden Church. 



298 



The fiirst Gladstone Ministry. 299 

tain abuses should be reformed, and the Conservatives were 
unwilling to carry through the measures which would accom- 
plish this. The Liberals had made the reforms which were 
demanded; but they were now as far ahead of public opinion 
as the Conservatives had been behind it. Nor was this all ; 
many changes necessarily weaken every Government; for there 
are none so necessary to the great body of the people but what 
they arc distasteful to individuals, and will be opposed by them. 
The Gladstone Ministry had offended many; some by this re- 
form, some by that; their day was beginning to draw to a close; 
high noon was long past= 



CHAPTER XL 

THE ITRST GLADSTONE MINISTRY. 

(Continued.) 

Dangerous Illness of the Prince of Wales — Trouble on the Liquor Question — 
Gladstone's Sharp Eetort on Disraeli — Army of Titmouses — Ballot Bill 
Again Introduced — Third Attempt to Settle the Irish Question — Justice to 
Ireland — Gladstone Determines to Resign— Important Changes in the 
Ministry — Disraeli's Manifesto— Circular to the Liberal Members of Par- 
liament — Bill for the Regulation of Public Worship — Endowed Schools — 
Gladstone's Retirement from the Leadership of the Liberal Party — Pre- 
paring for New Legislation — Active Interest in Public Affairs. 

'HE year 1872 began with a Thanksgiving Service in St. 
Paul's Cathedral, for the recovery of the Prince of Wales 
from that attack of typhoid fever which had threatened 
his life the previous autumn. This royal progress some- 
what drew off the public attention from the proceedings of Par- 
liament, for a time; and perhaps the new popularity of the heir 
to the throne had something to do with the fact that there was 
no specially popular statesman at this time. There must always 
be some idol for the people ; Gladstone had lately held that po- 
sition, but had lost it ; Disraeli was the man who would natural- 
ly have stepped into the place thus vacated, had the circumstan- 
ces not put forward a figure encompassed with the fictitious splen- 
dor of royalty. 

It was for this reason that, while there were many to predict 
the downfall of the Government during the session of 1872, 
there were none who were able to point to a combination which 
was strong enough to hold its own after the displacement of 
G-ladstone's Ministry. As a journal of the time remarked, it was 
a " spiteful problem in maxima and minima — how to inflict on the 
Government the maximum of discredit with the minimum of im- 
mediate result. The great question now is : Can the Govern- 
ment, even with the cordial help of its many open enemies and 
insincere friends, manage to receive the tokens of the accumula 

S00 



The First Gladstone Ministry. 301 

ted dislikes of so many different sections, and yet survive the 
session ?" 

At the very beginning of the session, the struggle began. In 
his speech upon the Address to the Throne, Mr. Disraeli re- 
marked upon the frequent expositions of the Government's pol- 
icy which had been made during the recess. " We really have 
had no time to forget anything," he complained; "Her Majesty's 
Ministers may have been said during the last six months to have 
lived in a blaze of apology." He again brought up the question of 
the Admiralty's responsibility for the loss of two vessels; he 
found fault with the Treaty of Washington, and demanded to be in- 
formed if the Americans agreed to the interpretation which the 
English Government had putuponit; he referred sarcastically to 
the third branch of the Upas Tree of Ireland ; and condemned 
the Government for preferring the Ballot Act to the Mines Kegu- 
lation Act and important sanitary legislation. 

Mr. Gladstone's answer was of course a justification of the 
Government. The concessions that had been made by England 
in the treaty of Washington were justifiable, and the Americans 
had by their silence accepted the interpretation which the En- 
glish Government put upon certain clauses, which allowed room 
for difference of opinion. The treaty was not ambiguous in any 
of its parts ; and there was a friendly feeling between the two 
countries. The Leader of the Opposition was assured that he 
was mistaken in regard to his assumption about Irish education, 
which would be taken up by Parliament at the earliest possible 
moment; and he was assured likewise that the Government 
would furnish every assistance in the investigation of the charges 
against the Admiralty. 

Two appointments made under the authority of Mr. Gladstone 
gave rise to much debate, and finally showed how great was the 
loss of strength which the Government had suffered since com- 
ing into power. It was desired to place Sir Eobert Collier, the 
Attorney General, on the bench of a new Court of Appeal, the 
Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. But for this position 
none were eligible except those who had been judge of one of 
the ordinary courts. To qualify him in this particular, he was 
appointed to a Puisne Judgeship of the Court of Common Pleas. 
There was no question as to his real fitness for the position ; it 
was admitted that he had helped the Government out of a diffi- 
culty by taking an appointment which several judges had de- 



302 The First Gladstone Ministry. 

clined, and which had not quite such a position as that which the 
traditions of his office entitled him to expect. But it seemed to 
many as if it were something of a trick, this act which passed 
him through one court in order to give him a technical qualifica- 
tion for another. The Premier was accused of casuistry, of Jesu- 
itism ; and the whispers that he was at heart a Catholic were re- 
newed at this evidence of his following in the footsteps of the 
famous order. So strong was the feeling that a vote of censure 
was moved in both Houses; the Lords rejected it by eighty-nine 
to eighty-seven, which was doing fairly well for the Conserva- 
tive Chamber j bat when it came before the House of Commons 
upon a similar proposition, the Government's majority was found 
to have dwindled to twenty-seven. 

Another appointment was of a somewhat similar character. A 
clergyman was to be appointed to a living which mu c t be filled 
by a member of the Convocation of Oxford ; thoEev.W. W.Har- 
vey, a graduate of Cambridge, was made a member of this body 
by the University of Oxford, and was then presented to theEec 
tory of Evvelme. As in the former case, there was no question 
of fitness; the technical qualification had been provided, in or- 
der that a man possessing all other qualifications might be ap- 
pointed ; but Mr. Gladstone was criticised as severely as if he 
had given the places to men for whom he had provided the only 
qualifications they possessed. 

The Government had got into trouble on the liquor question. 
The United Kingdom Alliance for the suppression of the Liquor 
Traffic was represented in Parliament by Sir Wilfred Lawson, 
who advocated the doctrine of Prohibition in speeches which 
never failed to amuse and finalty interest his listeners. At the 
instance of the Alliance, an effort was made to regulate the trade 
in liquors ; but the measure which was proposed by the Govern- 
ment pleased neither side; the Prohibitionists looked disdain- 
fully upon it as a half-measure, and the liquor-dealers of all 
classes saw in it only a renewal of that hostility to them and 
their trade which Mr. Gladstone had already shown, when he 
advocated that innovation upon the traditional ways of England 
by which light wines were allowed to be sold by grocers and 
pastry-cooks. 

There was a war of repartee, in which Mr. Gladstone was not 
the vanquished, when Mr. Ayrton's bill for the Eegulation of 
Parks came before the House. Mr, Hardy stigmatized the Gov« 



The First Gladstone Ministry. 



303 



ernment's efforts to throw the responsibility of certain by-laws for 
the parks upon Parliament as a cowardly proceeding ; whereupon 
Mr. Gladstone rebuked him for bringing an acrid and venomous 
spirit into the debate, and said that it was the late Government 
whose bungling and feeble conduct had led to the present diffi- 
culties. This brought Mr. Disraeli to his feet, who accused Mr. 
Gladstone of sitting sullen and silent when the question was before 
discussed, and only expressing himself to the crowd which gathered 
about his residence. Mr. Gladstone retorted with a quotation 
from that speech of Sheri- 
dan's in which the brilliant 
wit accuses his opponent or 
drawing upon his memory 
for his jokes and his imagi- 
nation for his facts ; and ad- 
vised Mr. Disraeli, before 
he accused others of forget- 
ting the course they had 
formerly pursued, to prac- 
tice what he preached, and 
be sure that his accusations 
were well founded. The 
shot told home, and the 
cheers and laughter of the 
House were renewed when 
Mr. Gladstone told Col. Gil- 
pin, a member of the Op- 
position who had renewed 
the attack, that he did not 
think the imagination which 
prevailed on the front bench had extended so far back as the 
third and had infected that row of members. 

The session of 1872 is remarkable for one of the most tumult- 
ous scenes which ever took place in the House of Commons. Sir 
Charles Dilke had, during the previous autumn, been making him- 
self notorious as an advocate of Republicanism. He had during 
that time been the best abused man in Great Britain ; the comic 
papers and theatrical burlesques had made free with his name ; the 
telegraph had carried his doings everywhere; newspaper corres- 
pondents had interviewed him, and then held him up to ridicule 
as the " President of England." When the Prince of Wales was 




Lord Littleton. 



304 • The First Gladstone Ministry. 

taken sick r the abuse which was heaped upon Dilke was such as 
might have been merited if he had had a hand in filling the roy- 
al system with the germs of disease. And yet, he was not so far 
ahead of the time. The countries of Europe, which had at first 
looked upon the establishment of the American Eepublic as an 
experiment which was doomed to speedy failure, had come to 
have their doubts about it when fifty years and more passed by, 
and the United States still flourished. An eminent French poli- 
tical economist had declared that the only tost which it had not 
stood was a great war; if it should be thus tried, and should 
come out triumphant from the ordeal, there was no other danger. 
The war had come; the very earth had yawned, as if to engulf 
the structure, which was shaken to its foundations; but that 
structure stood firm ; and the seven years which had passed since 
the earthquake ceased had seen that " bloody chasm," about 
which we have heard so much, gradually closing. It was appar- 
ent then that a republic was possible, and the recent events in 
France had led the English to think a European republic might 
be as stable as the American. There has always been more or 
less republican sentiment on the surface of the radicalism of 
Great Britain ; and Dilke had but crystallized this in his own 
mind, and given it expression. 

He had been challenged to repeat in the House of Commons 
the statements which he had made in the country; so in March 
he brought on a motion for inquiring into the manner in which 
the income and allowance of the Crown are expended. What- 
ever we may think of the wisdom of the man who thus tackled, 
almost single-handed, a system which had been growing for 
more than a thousand years, and which limitation and change 
had but rendered more stable, we cannot but admire his courage 
in thus facing the House where all, save two or three, were bit- 
terly opposed to what he advocated. He faced his antagonists 
with dogged calmness; he brought forward his array of facts 
and figures, and presented them with well-arranged arguments; 
but his quiet, dry and labored style was far from being eloquent, 
and the House began to grow apathetic before he was nearly 
through. 

The duty of answering such a demand of course devolved up- 
on the First Minister of the Crown, and Mr. Gladstone did so 
with a zeal and warmth which surprised those who thought him 
half a Radical, and almost a sympathizer with Sir Charles Dilke 



The First Gladstone Ministry. 



305 



Limself. No one thought that he could be so passionately mer- 
ciless as he showed himself to be. He said that a detailed refutal 
of the charges against the Crown's extravagant expenditure would 
\ be impossible without some previous notice ; but he asserted that 
the information now before the House in another form would 
show that the Civil List had been largely reduced during this 
reign as compared with the two preceding it. He concluded by 
asking the House to reject the motion without further discus- 
sion. 

The Speaker had not ruled against the motion as irregular, 
and the mover and sec- 
onder were therefore en- 
titled to be heard. But 
when Mr. Auberon Her- 
bert arose to second it, 
the scene which ensued 
was, it is to be hoped, one 
which was never witness- 
ed before and will never 
be repeated. The author 
of a noted novel has told 
us how Tittlebat Titmouse 
defeated a measure 
against which his whole 
party was powerless, sim- 
ply by his imitations of 
the crowing of a cock, 
which caused a diversion 
and gave the members 
time to alter their minds. 
There was a small army 
army of Titmouses present, to all appearance; and the crowing, 
hooting, groaning, hissing, howling and yelling, drowned the 
voice of the unfortunate speaker completely. Nothing daunted, 
he waited until the cries had lulled sufficiently to permit him to 
be heard, though still with difficulty, when he apologized for 
Sir Charles Dilke, who had been far from wishing to make a 
personal attack upon the Sovereign, and announced that he, 
too, preferred a republican form of government. Here a con- 
siderable number of members arose and left the House, while 
those who remained renewed the noises which had before pre- 
20 




Sir Charles Dilke. 



§06 'The First Gladstone Ministry.- 

vented his being heard. Mr. Herbert sent out for a glass of wa- 
ter with as much sang froid as if his speech had been greeted 
with cheers, and continued speaking; but the remainder consis- 
ted merely of disjointed sentences. 

Many times during the period that he remained upon his feet 
he was interrupted by demands that the House be counted. No 
less than three counts were taken, but each time it was found 
that there were more than forty members present. At last the 
Speaker's attention was blandly called to the fact that there 
were strangers present. This, of course, included the reporters; 
and while the Speaker can be as blind as he pleases to their 
presence upon all other occasions, the instant a member of the 
House informs him that there are others than members present, 
he is bound to order their expulsion. The remainder of the 
debate was then without witness save the members themselves ; 
and the absence of the outsiders did not conduce to the order- 
liness of the debate. The question was at last put, and the re- 
sult showed 2 ayes to 276 noes, those members who had left the 
House having returned in the meantime. 

The Ballot Bill was again introduced this session. An amend- 
ment was proposed, which was carried against the Government ; 
but a modified form of it being accepted by the Ministry, the 
bill finally prevailed and went up to the Lords. It was there 
amended and sent back to the Commons, where the changes 
were at first hotly contested; but eventually a compromise was 
effected, and this important measure, effecting a complete change 
in the system of voting, became a law. Mr. Gladstone had the 
satisfaction of seeing the first elections conducted under the law 
which had been one of his darling projects, of the most orderly 
and satisfactory character. 

But while such an important measure excited little comment 
in the country at large, there was another subject on which the 
popular feeling was at white heat. This was the Alabama claims, 
as presented before the Arbitration Commission at Geneva. 
Much to the surprise of the English, it was found that the Uni- 
ted States claimed compensation for indirect losses as well as 
direct; and Mr. Gladstone was violently assailed for his assur- 
ances that the treaty permitted but one interpretation. It was 
only another instance of his nice distinctions being misunder- 
stood by intellects of less subtle keenness. 

The Commissioners finally decided that the British Government 




307 



308 The First Gladstone Ministry. 

was not justly liable for claims for indirect damages, but was to 
pay for direct injuries inflicted by the Alabama, the Florida 
and the Shenandoah. The sum total awarded to the United 
States was a little more than one-third of the original claim. 

The session of 1872 was not a barren one, as far as the enact- 
ment of laws relating to domestic affairs was concerned. ]STot 
only the Ballot Act, but various others, relating to the regula- 
lation of mines, the adulteration of food, the public health, and 
licensing, owed their final enactment to this session. 

Fifteen years after the date of which we are writing, one of 
the great London dailies styled the Irish Question " the Old 
Man of the Sea of Parliament." The comparison is no inapt one, 
and is unfortunately likely to be applicable for a long time to 
come. The Gladstone Ministry had made two great attempts to 
settle it, but there was a third task to be undertaken before they 
should have accomplished all that had been promised in their 
original programme. 

Feb. 13th, the Government introduced the bill which it was 
hoped would hew down the third branch of the Upas Tree. It 
dealt altogether with the state of education in Ireland. In his 
speech introducing the bill, Mr. Gladstone showed that so far 
from the Queen's Colleges which had been established, being the 
means of increasing educational facilities, they seemed rather to 
have alienated the Irish still further; for the number of collegi- 
ate students in 1872 was actually less than it had been in 1832. 
The Koman Catholic population of Ireland contributed but one- 
eighth of the whole number of students, and of these not more 
than one-half would in England be ranked as university stud- 
ents. The bill provided for the abolition of all religious tests; 
for the incorporation of Dublin University and the union of the 
Queen's Colleges with it; for the maintenance of all the chairs 
usual in such institutions of learning which were not incompati- 
ble with perfect religious equality for the students ; this latter 
exception excluding, as was specially stated, chairs in theology, 
moral philosophy, and modern history. The Government hoped 
that this bill would conciliate the Catholics by the concessions 
which were made to them, and the English Liberals would be 
pleased with its moderation. But as is usually the case when the 
attempt is made to please two parties of opposite opinions by 
one and the same measure, each one saw what the other was in- 
tended to see ; the Catholic Bishops denounced the measure, and 



The First Gladstone Ministry. S09 

while they did not decline what it offered, let it be known that 
they wanted much more; the Catholic members, who had been 
expected to be its warmest supporters, were its bitterest oppos- 
ers; and the Liberals objected strongly to the proposed omissions 
from the curriculum. 

At the request of Mr. Disraeli, the second reading of this bill 
was postponed until the beginning of March; as the opposition 
desired time to consider so important and complicated a meas- 
ure. It was then demanded that the Government should specify 
the members of the governing bodv which the bill proposed for 
the university ; but this was, as Mr. Gladstone pointed out, im- 
possible; as the positions could not be offered until the bill had 
made some progress in committee, nor until there was some pros- 
pect that there would be positions to accept. The opposition to 
the bill was remarkable both for the variety of the arguments 
and the diversity of the parties represented by those who spoke 
against it. The debate ended with speeches by Mr. Disraeli and 
Mr. Gladstone. The ex-Premier's oration was a brilliant one, 
though not always relevant to the subject; it called forth vehe- 
ment cheering from the members on the Opposition benches. Be- 
fore this had fairly subsided, Mr. Gladstone arose to reply. His 
powerful speech was a summing up of the arguments pro and con, 
and a strengthening of those for the bill, with an appeal to the 
House for the justice which was demanded. In his eyes, it was 
all that was necessary to satisfy Ireland ; all that justice demand- 
ed for her; and so the conclusion of his speech assured them : 

" To mete out justice to Ireland, according to the best view 
that with human infirmity we could form, has been the work, I 
will almost say the sacred work of this Parliament. Having put 
our hand to the plow, let us not turn back. Let not what we 
think the fault or perverseness of those whom we are attempting 
to assist have the slightest effect in turning us even by a hair's 
breadth from the path on which we have entered. As we nave 
begun, so let us persevere even until the end, and with firm and 
resolute hand let us efface from the law and practice of this 
country the last — for I believe it is the last — of the religious and 
social grievances of Ireland." 

All the eloquence of this speech, however, was not sufficient 
to convince those who were opposed to it; and the division 
showed that the Government was in a minority of three. Up- 
on this defeat they had not counted, as the bill had at first met 



31(j The First Gladstone Ministry. 

with a favorable reception • even Mr. Horsman, who had vio- 
lently opposed it on the second reading, had in a letter to Mr. 
Lowe, written immediately after the first presentation of the 
bill, spoken of it in the most favorable terms; the letter was 
read to the House during the debate, but seems to have pro- 
duced no effect upon the Opposition. Questioned some years af- 
terward regarding this measure, Mr. Gladstone said that consid- 
ering the extremely favorable reception with which the bill had 
met at the outset, he was most emphatically astonished at its 
ultimate fate. 

Although the majority of the Opposition had been so small, 
the importance of the measure which the Government had wish- 
ed to carry was such that Mr. Gladstone determined to resign; 
:and he did so at once. But then arose a peculiar difficultj^. Dis- 
Taeli was his only possible successor ; but it would have been im- 
possible for him to form a Government, with the majority of the 
House of Commons opposed to him, as it undoubtedly was; a 
few days later, therefore, Mr. Gladstone announced that he and 
his colleagues had consented to resume the positions which they 
had felt obliged to resign. Mr. Disraeli's refusal to accept office 
had been unconditional, and Mr. Gladstone contended that his 
•action was contrary to precedent and parliamentary usage. Mr. 
Disraeli replied that a considerable part of the majority against 
the Government in the late contest consisted of Liberals, with 
whom he had no bond of union whatever. A Government could 
not well dissolve without entering upon its duties, and therowas 
at present nothing to dissolve upon ; such a course required some 
definite policy, to be submitted to the electors for their decision. 
Mr. Gladstone, he said, had resigned upon very inadequate 
grounds; and his return to office was the best possible solution 
of the difficulty. He had had some experience of the difficulty 
of carrying on a Government in the face of a majority opposed 
to it, and was not anxious to try it again. 

Mr. Fawcett, who had strenuously opposed the Irish Uni- 
versity Bill, brought forward a measure relating to the same sub- 
ject, during this session; the changes made were such that it be- 
came simply an abolition of religious tests before it was carried. 
'There were several bills relating to financial measures, which 
were carried by the Government. Mr. Miall pressed the Bill for 
the Disestablishment of the English Church, which was opposed 
hy Mr. Gladstone in the strongest sj)eech made during the de- 



The First Gladstone Ministry. 311 

bate; and a proposal to permit laymen and Dissenters to deliver 
sermons in the churches was also negatived. 

Shortly after the close of the session, there were some impor- 
tant changes in the Ministry. Mr. Lowe having resigned the* 
post of Chancellor of the Exchequer, Mr. Gladstone undertook; 
the double duties of that office and of those of the First Lord of 
the Treasury. Three other members of less note, Lord Eipon, Mr. 
Childers, and Mr. Baxter, retired ; and Mr. Bright re-entered it, 
as Chancellor 01 the Duchy of Lancaster. 

The Government grew more and more unpopular as time went 
on. Its reforms had been too sweeping and sudden ; they hadi 
frightened the people^ whom the Conservatives easily convinced, 
that everything was in danger from this mania for change ; the 
by-elections which had taken place were all considerable Con- 
servative victories ; not only was the Bible in danger from the 
course which the Liberal Government had taken with regard to 
the Irish Catholics, but the changes which had been made in the 
license law threatened Beer. Says one of Mr. Gladstone's most 
reliable and minute biographers: " The joint flag of 'Beer and 
Bible* having been hoisted the cry against the Ministry became 
irresistible " 

Mr G'adstone recognized that it would not be long after the 
meeting of the new session before he would be compelled to re- 
sign ; he foresaw the difficulties into which the Opposition, thus 
transferred to the Treasury Benches, would be thrown; and he 
knew that evil to the country would result from a weak Govern- 
ment In these circumstances, he determined to appeal to the 
country , that if his course were approved, he might have the 
strength necessary to carry out his measures ; if it were disap- 
pioved, there would be fewer obstacles in the path of his succes- 
ors„ He probably had little hope of the result when, on the 23rd 
of January ^ he issued a manifesto to the electors of Greenwich, 
announcing that the existing Parliament would be dissolved 
without defay ; and writs immediately issued for a general elec- 
tion This document, which was an unusually long one, is fairly 
entitled, from its political and historical importance, to rank as 
a state paper. Reviewing the history of that Parliament, he 
retraced the steps by which the Cabinet had proceeded, from 
an overwhelming popularity to the present state of unpopularity ; 
and admitting that the state of affairs had not improved dur- 
ing the recess^ .asked that the people should show that they 




feq 



<o 






m 



The First Gladstone Ministry. 313 

were with the Government which had wrought such important 
reforms. He reviewed the policy which had been pursued in 
financial matters, and promised a reduction of taxation for the 
future. Eeferring to the charge which the Conservatives had not 
hesitated to make, that the Liberal party had endangered the in- 
stitutions and worried all the interests of the country, he denied 
its truth, and claimed that if any were offended, it was because 
the Government had honestly tried to do all that was in its 
power to promote the highest interests of the nation. He chal- 
lenged a comparison between the years of Liberal and the years 
of Tory rule, with their results. 

The newspapers of the day, of course, accorded a reception to 
this address which varied with the standpoint generally taken. 
On the one hand, the News said that it was a policy which would 
revive the enthusiasm of the Liberal party, and greatly benefit 
the country; on the other hand, the Standard declared that the 
policy followed must be described as one of surprise and in- 
trigue. 

Mr. Disraeli lost no time in issuing a manifesto to his con- 
stituents, as a reply to this address of Mr. Gladstone's. It was 
brusque, in some parts at least; and its flippancy contrasted as 
strangely as usual with the dignity and gravity of Mr. Glad- 
stone's style. 

Parliament was dissolved the 26th of January, and the new 
House was summoned to meet March 5th. Thus there was but 
a little over a month for the electioneering campaign, and it be- 
gan in good earnest. It was the first general election at which 
the voting was by ballot, and it passed off with orderliness and 
peace. The result showed considerable gains for the Conserva- 
tives, that party having a majority of forty-six votes in a full 
house. There were many interests arrayed against the Ministry 
which had instituted so many reforms ; and there were some 
whose support was given to the Conservatives in the hope that 
there would be legislation for their benefit as soon as a Tory 
Ministry took charge of affairs. 

As soon as the national verdict was known, Mr. Gladstone 
placed his resignation in the hands of the Queen. He had in- 
curred the displeasure of the people of whom he had been the 
virtual ruler ; but, as it was said at the time that he went out of 
ofiice, "a great many people entertain towards Mr. Gladstone's 
G/overnment the same sort of sentiment as that which worthy 



314 The First Gladstone Ministry. 

Mrs. Bertram, in Scott's romance, felt for the energetic revenue 
officer who would persist in doing his duty, instead of following 
the example of his predecessor, who sang his song, and took his 
drink, and drew his salary without troubling any one." 

Such being the offense which had been committed, it seems 
more honorable to have offended than it would have been to 
have pleased. 

There were some political wiseacres who said that if Mr. Glad- 
stone had not dissolved, but had brought forward a budget an- 
nouncing the repeal of the income tax, a measure which he had 
announced as one which would be supported by his Government 
if the country endorsed its policy, he would have regained the 
support of the Liberal party in toto. But this was not done ; he 
had dissolved; his rival had come into office, and was, for the 
first time, at the head of a Ministry which was endorsed by a 
majority of the House. JSTor was the election all; there were 
not wanting former professed friends of Mr. Gladstone who jeer- 
ed at his fall from power. 

Shortly before the House met for active business, Mr. Glad- 
stone addressed a circular to the Liberal members of Parliament, 
reiterating the intention which he had expressed conditionally 
before the election, to retire from the leadership of the Liberal 
party. The condition had been fulfilled, in the failure to secure 
an endorsement of his policy; and he wrote to Lord Granville, 
who had long been the leading Liberal Peer, a more explicit 
statement of his reasons for so doing. From this letter we learn 
little, however, beyond the bare fact that he considered his age 
to entitle him to some rest ; and he alleged " various personal 
reasons" for not engaging himself as closely with Parliamentary 
matters as he had done^ 

The new Ministerialists indulged in a little pleasantry con- 
cerning an Opposition without a leader, and the party which 
had so lately divided its support found how necessary Mr. Glad- 
stone was to its success. But the opposing parties did not 
measure swords at once. For a while there was quite a Utopian 
state of things in Parliament ; true, an over-zealous Tory did 
propose a vote of censure upon the late Ministry for dissolving, 
but Mr. Disraeli promptly silenced him, making Mr. Gladstone's 
annihilation of his arguments quite unnecessary. The new Chan- 
cellor of the Exchequer, Sir Stafford Northcote, confessed that 
the calculations of the late Prime Minister were quite correct. 



The First Gladstone Ministry. Zl% 

and there was a surplus, as stated, in the revenue. The Govern- 
ment made no pretensions to any original policy, but followed 
that which their predecessors had intended to pursue ; and every- 
thing was lovely. 

Such a state of affairs could not last very long, however, and 
the introduction of several important religious measures speed- 
ily aroused the sleeping lion of contention. The first of these 
concerned itself with the Church Patronage of Scotland ; this 
had been a subject of agitation for the last three hundred years, 
or ever since the regent Murray set aside the authority and the 
religion of his royal sister. The General Assembly had passed 
various resolutions expressing their dissatisfaction with the ex- 
isting state of affairs, but nothing definite had been brought for- 
ward by any Government until this time. The present bill, a 
short but comprehensive one, was supported by some influential 
Liberal Peers, being introduced in that House; but was op- 
posed by the Liberal members of the Lower Chamber. The chief 
feature of the debate was a vigorous speech by Mr. Gladstone, 
who had not appeared in the House for some time, and whose 
rising was therefore greeted with unusual warmth by his adher- 
ents. "While the motive of the bill was laudable, he considered 
its details as extremely objectionable, and as such opposed them 
with all the force of his eloquence. The statement, " I am not an 
idolator of Establishments, " called forth ironical cheers from 
the Treasury Benches, which were speedily drowned in genuine 
applause from his own friends. The opposition was fruitless, 
however, for the second reading was carried by a considerable 
majority. 

A bill for the Regulation of Public Worship was introduced in- 
to the House of Lords 'Jby the Archbishop of Canterbury ; and 
upon this, when it came down to the Commons, Mr. Gladstone 
made another important speech. "He fairly electrified the as- 
sembly," said a contemporary newspaper. It opposed the bill on 
the ground that it was an undue interference with freedom ; and 
claimed that perfect uniformity of ritual was impossible. His 
speech was described by Sir William Harcourt, who replied to it, 
as a powerful plea for universal Non-conformity, or optional con- 
formity; and the resolutions which he proposed as a substitute 
for the bill could only point, according to Mr. Disraeli's under- 
standing of them, to the abolition of that religious settlement 
which had prevailed in England for more than two centuries. 



316 The First Gladstone Ministry. 

The Government, by these declarations and others of the same 
nature, clearly adopted the bill, and it soon became evident that 
Mr. Gladstone's resolutions were distasteful to many of his own 
supporters. He withdrew his resolutions when it became ap- 
parent that the greater part of the House was in favor of the 
bill j and the measure eventually became law, though it has 
never accomplished the object for which it was intended. 

The Endowed Schools Act Amendment Bill was looked upon 
by the Liberals as a step backward, and opposed accordingly. 
That party, when in power, had given into national control the 
schools which had formerly been under sectarian government ; 
and this was a reversal of that policy, in effect. It was moved by 
Mr. Forster that the bill should be rejected, and the motion was 
strongly supported by Mr. Gladstone. The ex-Premier pointed 
out that this was a reversal of the policy of the last Parliament, 
and was unwise as well as unusual. The Liberal party, he said, 
during the last forty or fifty years, had taken the initiative of 
policy in almost eveiy instance, and had been followed by the 
Conservatives, acting in prudence and honesty. It was the first 
instance, he claimed, of any direct attempt being made by a Min- 
istry at retrogression. The only similar case which he could find 
in history dated back to the reign of William III., and the act 
then passed was now proposed for repeal. Although the Govern- 
ment had a considerable majority upon the second reading, and 
also upon the motion to go into committee, they found that it 
would be so hotly contested in committee that they judged it 
best to make some important modifications; and it in its mutil- 
ated state finally passed and received the royal assent. 

Mr. Gladstone's retirement from the leadership of the Liber- 
al party had been assigned a possible limit in his letter to Lord 
Granville ; that limit was reached Jan. 1st, 1875, but the same cir- 
cumstances still existed, and he definitely withdrew from politi- 
cal life, so far as anything more than occasional presence in the 
House of Commons was concerned. His withdrawal brought con 
sternation to his political friends, who had been willing to en- 
dure his absence for a time, if they might look forward to his re- 
turn ; but his resolution was unalterable. Words of praise were 
showered upon him by all alike; and it was feared that he bad 
finally left the strife of party. 

It was of course necessary to elect a new leader. There were 
two men whose names first occurred to the observer of the field 



The First Gladstone Ministry. 317 

— Mr. Bright and Mr. Lowe. Mr. Bright, it was well known, 
would not accept the vacant post, for the same reason that he 
had hesitated about accepting office ; as for Mr. Lowe, he was a 
man of undoubted ability — but — then the speaker would shake 
his head significantly, and the listener would know exactly what 
was meant regarding that erratic genius, and agree with him. 
The list was thus reduced to Mr. Forster, Sir W. Harcourt, Mr. 
Goschen, and the Marquis of Hartington. The first three were 
subsequently withdrawn, and Lord Hartington unanimously 
elected to the vacant place. 

The choice was not an unwise one ; for although the new lead- 
er was indolent and lacked many of the brilliant qualities of his 
predecessor, he defeated the prophecies of those who had pre- 
dicted his failure ; and justified very largely the eulogy which 
Mr. Bright had pronounced upon him at the time of his election. 

Mr. Gladstone did not often appear in the House during the 
session of 1875. His first important speech was upon Mr. Os- 
borne Morgan's Burials Bill, which proposed that the friends of 
the deceased should have the privilege of deciding upon the ser- 
vice to be used in a parish graveyard. It seems to be something 
similar to that which Mr. Gladstone had before advocated. lie 
spoke in favor of this, as did Mr. Bright, but it was finally nega- 
tived by a majority of fourteen. 

The budget introduced by Sir Stafford Northcote was the sub- 
ject of another speech. Mr. Gladstone objected to various meas- 
ures which were proposed by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, 
and maintained that the surplus for the ensuing year was over- 
estimated. The plan for reducing the National Debt, he main- 
tained, was founded upon the supposition that there would be a 
large surplus every year for the next thirty years, and that suc- 
ceeding Chancellors of the Exchequer would do the reverse of 
what Sir S. Northcote had done. The plan was, however, adopt- 
ed. 

There were other speeches made during the session, but not 
many ; and they were upon topics of little or no permanent inter- 
est. During the autumn, Mr. Gladstone met the Hawarden ten- 
antry, and made the most pleasing speech of the year. The 
reason for his continued silence was found afterward to be the 
preparation of controversial works, which forever settled the 
question of his secret membership of the Catholic Church, and 
which we shall consider in a later chapter, 



CHAPTER XII. 

GLADSTONE IN OPPOSITION. 

Eastern Question — Turkey Does Nothing but Promise — Suicide of the Turkish 
Sultan — Oriental Kaces — Explanations by Disraeli — Raised to the Peerage 
Bulgarian Horrors — Lord Salisbury in the East — Earl of Shaftesbury — 
Duke of Argyle — Lord George Hamilton — Gladstone's Pamphlet on the 
Turkish Question — Action in Parliament on the Turkish Situation — Pro- 
tracted Debate — Vote of Credit — "Peace with Honor" — Sir Stafford 
Northcote — Gladstone Arraigns the Government — Triumphal March 
Through Scotland — " Grand Old Man " — Great Ovations Everywhere. 

LTHOUGH Mr. Gladstone had thus formally retired from 
the leadership of the Liberal party, he was not destined 
to remain in retirement for a long period. Perhaps it 
would have been impossible for a man constituted as he was, and 
accustomed for many years to take a prominent part in direct- 
ing the affairs of the nation, to content himself with merely liter- 
ary activity 3 certainly the events of the years immediately suc- 
ceeding his effort to devote himself to purely intellectual pursuits 
were stirring enough to arouse him from the repose which be had 
promised himself. 

When the Crimean war closed, Lord Aberdeen bad said that 
the treaty might possibly remain intact for five and twenty 
years $ he was laughed at as a pessimist, but the event proved 
that he was rather optimistic than otherwise. Before the quar- 
ter century had elapsed, the Eastern Question was once more the 
problem of the hour. 

The fact that many of the provinces of Turkey were inhabited 
by alien races was bound to lead to foreign interference on the 
behalf of such peoples. Such interference was rendered more 
frequent because of the difference in religion, which was often 
made the excuse when there was no real need of outside assis- 
tance. The Danubian Principalities had been under the protec- 
torate of the Czar, but this state of affairs was never recognized 
at Constantinople, and the Treaty of Paris had restored them to 
Turkey. Their subjection was only nominal, however, for when 

318 



In Opposition. 319 

Moldavia and "WaHacnia united themselves under one govern- 
ment, and expelled their ruler, the Porte could only look help- 
lessly on. Encouraged by this success, and probably by the 
fact that the Cretan rebellion had not been a complete failure, 
the Servians demanded that the Turkish garrisons should be re- 
moved from their midst, and the Turks complied. Russia had 
declared that she was no longer bound by the Treaty of Paris, 
and this gave fresh courage to the provinces which were always 
ready to revolt when occasion offered. But although the Turks 
had withdrawn the garrisons when required to do so, they had 
not relaxed the oppression which was practiced in other ways. 
It has frequently been remarked that there is in Turkish rule no 
medium between neglect and tyranny; and that the portions of 
the Empire where tyranny might be excusable, as being the only 
means of maintaining public order, are the very portions where 
the hand of authority is never felt. Tho strength which should 
be used, under a just government, in repressing crime and disor- 
der, is exercised in the oppression of those quiet and law abid- 
ing provinces which should be protected from others. It must be 
admitted, however, that the Christian provinces were not at this 
time, and had not been for many years, orderly and law-abiding; 
they had suffered so much from the tyranny of their Mahometan 
masters that they were always in a ferment of revolt. 

Early in July, 1875, the news reached England that the op- 
pression had at last become unbearable, and that the Herzegov- 
ina was in open rebellion. It became quite clear at once that a 
new chapter of the old troubles was beginning. The Turkish 
statesmen insisted that the rebels were receiving outside assis- 
tance, and called upon England to interfere. England was the 
enemy of Russia, and as such was regarded as the friend of the 
Porte. Austria was one of the offenders against whom complaint 
was made. Servia and Montenegro were requested to stop send- 
ing supplies of arms and men to the insurgents. But none of the 
Governments thus appealed to seem to have done anything. 
Lord Derby, the Foreign Secretary, pursued a decidedly feeble 
course. He knew that the oppression of the Turkish Christians 
would be unpopular, but, on the other hand, the repression of 
the Turkish cruelties would be pleasing to Russia, who always 
desired to see the Ottoman humbled ; and anything which 
pleased Russia was sure to displease the English people. Under 
such circumstances, he decided to act with the Porte; and urged 



320 In Opposition 

the Government at Constantinople to put down the insurrection 
as quickly as possible, and not allow it to swell to the magnitude 
of a matter for European intervention. This offended, not only 
popular feeling, but the popular conscience ; and somewhat in- 
terfered with the popularity of the Disraeli Government. 

But the recommendation to the Porte was more than he could 
obey. It was impossible to put down the insurrection, which 
continued to spread. Finally, on the last day but one of the 
year 1875, Count Andrassy, the Austrian Minister, in conjunction 
with the representatives of Germany and Russia, addressed a 
note to the Porte. This Note from the three great Empires de- 
clared that the promises of reform made by Turkey had been 
broken, and that some combined action of the Powers of Europe 
was nee essary to insure their fulfillment. If this were not done 
they declared, the governments of Servia and Montenegro, 
would be compelled by the enthusiasm of those peoples to sup- 
port the revolutionary cause in Bosnia and Herzegovina; and 
this would mean a general outbreak. This Note was communi- 
cated to the Powers which had signed the Treaty of Paris ; 
France and Italy at once signified their concurrence; England 
alone hesitated. It was not until Lord Derby received a request 
from the Turkish Government that he would join in it, that he 
complied. It seems at first strange that such a request should 
come from the Porte ; the reason for it is scarcely honorable to 
England, for she was regarded as a secret friend by Turkey. 

Lord Derby joined in the Andrassy Note, and it was sent to 
the Porte. The Turks listened gravely to the complaints and de- 
mands, and promised all sorts of good behavior for the future. 
The Powers had evidently gained their point at once. 

But Turkey did nothing but promise. Not one of the griev- 
ances was redressed, and it soon became apparent that she did not 
intend to take any steps to meet the demands. The Berlin Mem- 
orandum was accordingly drawn up by the three Imperial Min- 
isters, pointing out the increasing danger of disturbance, and the 
necessity for carrying into effect at once the objects of the An- 
drassy Note. It was proposed that hostilites should bo suspend- 
ed for two months between the Porte and the insurgents, while a 
peace was being negotiated ; and that the consuls and other rep- 
resentatives of the powers should watch over the proposed re- 
forms. The Memorandum significantly intimated that if the 
desired objects were not attained during the period of two 



In Opposition. 821 

months, the Powers would have to see what should be done. 
This threat meant that the matter must be settled as the Note 
and Memorandum had intimated • for Turkey could not think of 
resisting the arms of united Europe. 

Unfortunately, the English Government did not see its way 
clear to join in this Memorandum. The general impression was, 
that Eussia had been stirring up the discontent which had cul- 
minated in these difficulties, that the Christian Powers might be 
compelled to interfere in Turkish matters, to the manifest disad- 
vantage of the Porte. Lord Derby himself was of the opinion 
that a secret agreement had existed among the empires since 
1873, and he feared that England would be drawn into a danger- 
ous complication. His refusal made concert among the Powers 
impossible for the time, and the Memorandum was never pre- 
sented. Then every one in Europe and America knew that war 
was certain in the East. This refusal of the English Govern- 
ment seems to have given fresh courage to the Turks, who had 
been pretty well frightened by the magnitude of the storm which 
had threatened them a little while before. There was an out- 
break of Mussulman fanaticism at Salonica, and the French and 
German consuls were murdered. There was a revolution in Con- 
stantinople itself, and Abdul Aziz was dethroned to make way 
for a sultan capable of carrying on a war with an empty treas- 
ury. This rara avis, it was thought, they had found in his 
nephew, whom the Softas made Murad V.; but three months af- 
ter this remarkable discovery was made, they had proved to 
their own satisfaction that they were mistaken • and Murad 
stepped down and out to make room for his brother Hamid. 

Nobody expressed any special regret when Abdul Aziz open- 
ed the arteries of his arm, and bled to death in his palace; but 
there were circumstances more terrible than these changes, which 
were soon to alarm and horrify all Europe. An insurrection 
broke out in Bulgaria, and the Turkish Government sent large 
numbers of Bashi-Bazouks and other irregular troops to crush 
it. The insurrection was duly crushed, but the Bashi-Bazouks 
did not cease their horrible work. Repression turned to massa- 
cre, and rumors began to reach Constantinople of hideous whole- 
sale unprovoked murders in the northern province. The cor- 
respondent of the London Daily News heard them, and resolved 
to investigate them ; he did so, and found that the reports were 
but too well founded in fact. In a few days afterward accounts 
21 



322 In Opposition. 

were published in England of what has ever* since been known 
as the Bulgarian Atrocities. Thousands of innocent men, women 
and children had been slaughtered; at least sixty villages had 
been destroyed, after the extermination of their inhabitants; for- 
ty girls were shut up in a straw loft and burned alive ; the most 
unnamable outrages were committed ; and a district once the 
most fertile in the Ottoman Empire had been ruined. 

While the English public was reading these tales of horror, 
and shuddering at the tortures to which the prisoners had been 
subjected before death came to relieve them, the Prime Minister 
was taking things very coolly. He made it very evident that he 
did not know much about the Turkish provinces of the time, nor 
about Turkish affairs in general; he had not considered the 
charges worth investigating ; but assuming that such atrocious 
crimes were greatly exaggerated in the telling, endeavored to 
set the matter before the House of Commons in the light in 
which he saw it. The newspaper correspondent had been in 
search of sensations ; of course he had not made the picture any 
the less dark ; rumor has a thousand tongues ; and there must be 
much allowance made for " coffee-house babble." The Bashi- 
Bazouks, he informed his hearers, were the regular occupants of 
Bulgaria, being a Circassian race who had settled there long ago, 
with the concurrence of all Europe. As for the torture, Orient- 
al races " generally terminated their connection with culprits 
in a more expeditious manner." 

Mr. Disraeli's debonair treatment of the question did not sat- 
isfy the House. The Bashi-Bazouks were not the gentle, harm- 
less creatures that he had represented them to be ; they believed 
that the statements in the News were entitled to more credit than 
he was willing to give them ; and they grew more and more in- 
dignant that the Prime Minister of England should speak thus 
lightly of the outrages committed by Mahometan soldiery. 

That the newspaj)er statements were not exaggerated, was 
shown by the report of Mr. Baring, who was sent out to investi- 
gate the matter; he reported that so far from the only deaths be- 
ing those which took place in battle, between armed insurgents 
and the soldiers, he had himself seen whole masses of the bodies 
of woman and children piled together, in places where no bodies 
of combatants were to be seen. No fewer than twelve thousand 
persons had been killed in the single district of Philippopolis. 
This report from a man who was generally supposed to be in 



In Opposition. 323 

sympathy with Turkey upon the question as a whole, was indis- 
putable; and the Turkish Government showed that they had no 
intention of disowning these atrocities by their action, soon af- 
terward, in rewarding the chief perpetrators by new honors con- 
ferred upon them, presumably for the part borne in these mur- 
ders. 

What followed in England ? The Premier became only too anx- 
ious to explain away his words. There had been no levity, he 
assured his listeners, in the expression which he had used when 
he spoke of the improbability of Turks torturing their prison- 
ers ; he had not denied the existence of the Bulgarian atrocities, 
but having no official information that they had taken place, 
was bound not express his intentions regarding them. The 
public excitement was at white heat; the words of Mr. Disraeli 
were regarded simply as another instance of his inconsistency ; 
they were swept impatiently aside, while the people looked 
about them for a leader. Not the man who had scoffed at the 
story of outrage ; not any of the Government which had half 
condoned the offenses of the Turks; not Mr. Bright, whose health 
was too uncertain to allow him to take the part which his down- 
right antagonism to what he believed wrong would have led 
him; not the new leader of the Liberal party, who was some- 
what slow ; but a man whose eloquence could inflame the cold- 
est; a man whose principles were unquestioned ; a man whose 
standing was such that his slightest word must command atten- 
tion ; a man skilled in dealing with others — such was the leader 
that was sought for what Bright characterized as " an upris- 
ing of the English people." Was there such a man ? And would 
he lead them when he was found? Such were the questions 
which were earnestly asked. The former was perhaps easily an- 
swered, as men turned their eyes to one who was but seldom 
heard now-a-days ; the latter was fully answered when William 
Ewart Gladstone, casting aside polemics and criticism, forgetful 
alike of the Bard of Greece and the Pope of Eome, emerged 
from his semi-retirement and took up the gauntlet which Dis- 
raeli had allowed to drop from his over-careless hand. He had 
now nearly approached the limit of three score and ten ; at six- 
ty-seven we scarcely expect much ardor from the advocate of 
any cause ; but he flung himself into the contest with all the 
keen and impassioned energy of a youth. "He made speeches 
in the House of Commons and out of it j he attended monster 



324 



In Opposition. 




Benjamin Disraeli, Earl of Beaconsfield. 

meetings in doors and out of doors j he published pamphlets; he 
wrote letters ; he brought forward motions in Parliament ; he 



In Opposition. 825 

denounced the crimes of Turkey and the policy which would 
support Turkey, with an eloquence that for the time set England 
aflame." 

Prince Milan had left Belgrade in June, declaring that Servia 
could not longer endure the oppressions of Turkey ; and his 
province was, like its neighbors, in open revolt. We need not 
follow the whole course of events in the East ; we are interested 
only in what was done in England. There were frequent de- 
bates in Parliament upon the subject, and Mr. Gladstone, who 
had so rarely been present at the daily sessions, now spoke al- 
most every night upon some topic connected with the outrages 
and the course which the Government pursued. It was in vain 
that Mr. Disraeli explained that the British Government had re- 
fused to join in the Berlin Memorandum, because that represented 
a policy of aggression, with which England would have nothing 
to do ; that the British fleet had been sent to Bcsika Bay, not for 
the protection of the Turkish Empire, but to maintain the rights 
of the British ; it was in vain that Lord Derby defined the course 
of the Government as one of strict neutrality, and approved by 
the other Powers. The people had made up their mind, and their 
decision was not favorable to the stand which the Government 
had taken. 

August 11th,. 1876, Mr. Disraeli made his last reply to Mr. 
Gladstone and his adherents in the Blouse of Commons. It was 
upon this subject j he affirmed that the Turks were not the es- 
pecial proteges of England, and that she was not responsible for 
what had occurred in Turkey; he announced that the sole duty 
of the Government, according to his understanding of the case, 
was to maintain the Empire of England, and that they would 
never agree to any step which hazarded the existence of the Em- 
pire. After this speech, Mr. Disraeli left the House, never again 
to address it from the Ministerial or Opposition benches; for 
the next morning's papers contained what had hitherto been a 
well-kept secret: The Prime Minister had been created Earl of 
Beaconsfield. 

Perhaps it will not be out of place to turn aside at this mo- 
ment to note what was the nature of this reward, and for what it 
was bestowed. Mr. Disraeli had long been a faithful servant of the 
Crown; he had served it with the best of what was no mean ability; 
upon entering on the discharge of the duties of the First Lord of 
the Treasury at the beginning of the present session of Parlia- 



326 In Opposition. 

ment, he had determined upon the aggrandizement of the Crown 
by every legitimate means ; there was to be another Elizabeth- 
an period, the people were told ; and every one waited with 
confident expectancy to see the Elizabethan revival. To some 
extent they did see it; but whatever power great men may pos- 
sess to mould circumstances to their will, they cannot wholly 
create those circumstances. There was much that was lacking to 
make the Victorian Era a reproduction of the Elizabethan ; per- 
haps, if the matter had been strictly analyzed, the Tories would 
not have become the more popular by their efforts to bring back 
the glory of the tyrannical Tudor; but the phrase, like so many 
to which the brilliant novelist gave currency, was a taking one, 
and the Ministry was lauded for the intention. The Queen 
was given the new title of " Empress of India," though the Op- 
position carried anamendment which prohibited the use of the 
new title in the United Kingdom ; the Prince of Wales was par- 
aded through India, that he might see some of the princes who 
were well-disposed toward his royal mother, or who were afraid 
to be anything else; the Government bought a certain number 
of shares in the Suez Canal, which were just then going begging, 
and thus acquired the controlling interest in it; and the Eliza- 
bethan revival was completed. 

When Mr. Disraeli resigned at the close of the year 1868, he 
was offered that reward so dear to the heart of an Englishman — 
elevation to the peerage. Somewhat to the surprise of those 
who knew him, he declined it for himself; accepting it for the 
wife to whom he owed so much. The Viscountess Beaconsfield 
died four years later, childless. The Premier, by his talents as 
a debater, and his persistency under defeat, had won the admir- 
ation of his opponents as well as of his adherents ; personally he 
was most acceptable to the Queen ; and it was nota matter of won- 
der when the announcement above mentioned was made. No one 
objected ; no one cried out that he had not deserved well of the 
Sovereign ; if he wanted an earldom, by all means let him have 
it; and his enemies were among the first to applaud the royal 
recognition, for his transfer from the House of Commons to 
the House of Lords was a material weakening of his party in 
the legislative chamber where his party was the less strong. 

Three days after this, Parliament was prorogued. In the very 
beginning of the recess appeared the official report of Mr. Baring 
concerning the Bulgarian atrocities ; and Beaconsfield was con- 



In Opposition. 327 

victed by the evidence of one of his own subordinates of gloss- 
ing over crimes which well deserved punishment, because he did 
not choose to investigate the truth of the charges until public 
opinion compelled him to do so. Far different was the course 
taken by the great Liberal leader, as he still ranked in men's 
minds, though he had chosen that another should have that title. 
Scarcely a month after the prorogation, he published a pamphlet 
entitled, "Bulgarian Horrors, and the Question of the East." Eng- 
land, he maintained, should not only aim at the termination of 
the war actually in progress, but should demand the accomplish- 
ment of three great objects, before she rested from her labors. 
The first thing to be done was to put an end to the anarchical 
misrule, the plundering, the murdering, which still desolated 
Bulgaria ; there must then be effective measures taken to pre- 
vent the repetition of such outrages as had been recently perpe- 
trated under the sanction of the Ottoman Government, by ex- 
cluding its administrative action for the future, not only from 
Bosnia and Herzegovina, but from Bulgaria as well ; the latter 
province being the one, really, which it was most essential to 
protect in this manner. The third object to be attained, to which 
these were the steps, was the redemption of the honor of the 
British name, which in the deplorable events of the past year 
had been more gravely compromised than ever before within his 
recollection. He supported his position with all the force of his 
powerful eloquence ; and that had ripened year by year, so that 
now, when he had so nearly reached the limit of average human 
life, this faculty was at its very zenith ; nor could that star, 
which had thus risen, and which cast so glorious a light upon 
the progress of human liberty, decline until everlasting night 
should blot it from the vision of men. 

A few days after the publication of this pamphlet, Mr. Glad- 
stone addressed his constituents at an immense meeting on Black- 
heath. The speech, which was among the most eloquent and im- 
passioned of his political orations, furnished the watchwords of 
his party in the campaign which followed. At various points in 
his address the audience was completely carried away by the 
emotions which he aroused. There had been an effort made to 
compare these to other massacres and outrages, of which his- 
tory had told j but the effort was shown to be futile and puerile. 
But, he told them, if all these dark pages in English history 
could be concentrated into a single spot, that spot would not be 




m 



In Opposition. 329 

worthy to appear upon the pages which should hereafter tell of 
the infamous proceedings of the Turks in Bulgaria. He advo- 
cated, not the abolition of the Turkish Empire, but the limita- 
tion of its power in such manner that it could not again practice 
these dire refinements of cruelty. This could only be done by 
the combined action of all the Powers ; though there were two 
whose responsibilities were greater than any other's ; these two 
were England and Eussia. He did not claim that Eussia was ex- 
empt from ambition ; but she had within her the pulse of human- 
ity, and it was this pulse which he now believed was throbbing 
almost ungovernably in the minds of her people. The power of 
Eussia upon land was irresistible; that of England by sea was at 
least as great; he closed with the significant question, which the 
Foreign Secretary essayed to answer not long afterward : 

"I ask you, what would be the condition of the Turkish arm- 
ies if the British admiral now in Besika Bay were to inform the 
Government that, from that hour, until atonement had been made 
— until punishment had descended, until justice had been vindi- 
cated — not a man, not a ship, not a boat should cross the waters 
of the Bosphorus, or the cloudy Euxine, or the bright iEgean, to 
carry aid to the Turkish troops?" 

This address created too much enthusiasm among the people 
to be left unanswered ; and the Premier himself undertook the 
task. Speaking at Aylesbury, ho admitted that the Ministerial 
policy was unpopular, but strongly condemned those "designing 
politicians who take advantage of sublime sentiments, and apply 
them for the furtherance of their own sinister ends." This lan- 
guage was of course quoted with approval among the ultra-Con- 
servatives; but it was warmly denounced as extraordinary tri- 
fling, by those who were less bitter in their personal dislike of 
the great Liberal and his followers. 

Lord Derby directed the British embassador at Constantinople 
to lay Mr. Baring's report upon the Bulgarian atrocities before 
the Ottoman Government, and to demand that the offenders 
should be punished. This was said at the time to be an answer 
to that question which Mr. Gladstone propounded to his listen- 
ers on Blackheath, and which we have quoted above; and it 
would have been, had the demand been enforced. But that was 
the last of it; the British Government never pressed the Porte for 
a definite answer, and the Government which had rewarded Ach- 
met Agha, the Turkish general in Bulgaria, with the Order of 



330 In Opposition. 

the Medjidie, was not likely to give such satisfaction until com- 
pelled to do so. Turkey finally agreed to an armistice of eight 
weeks, and the Czar who had brought the pressure to bear which 
resulted in this, pledged his sacred word of honor to the En- 
glish ambassador that he had no intention of occupying Constan- 
tinople ; and that if necessity compelled him to occupy a portion 
of Bulgaria, it would only be provisionally, and until the safety 
and peace of the Christian population were secured. A week 
after this, Lord Beaconsfield delivered a warlike speech at the 
Ministerial banquet at Guildhall ; whereupon the Czar declared 
that if Turkey did not accede to his demands, Eussia would be 
prepared to act independently. 

Lord Salisbury, who had been accredited as the English rep- 
resentative at the Conference of Constantinople, arrived in that 
city Dec. 5th. Three days later, there was a great meeting at 
St. James' Hall for the purpose of discussing the Eastern Ques- 
tion. The Duke of Westminster was the Chairman, and the 
meeting was addressed by men eminent in politics, letters, 
science, religion and the army. At a second meeting, the even- 
ing of the same day, Lord Shaftesbury, the well-known and now 
lamented statesman and philanthropist, presided, and the address- 
es were at least as interesting as in the afternoon. Mr. Gladstone 
spoke at this time, in company with Mr. Fawcett, Canon Liddon, 
Mr. E. A. Freeman, and others of similiar standing. Mr. Free- 
man urged that the right must be maintained at all costs, even of 
the interests of England; Mr. Fawcett, referring to the injunc- 
tion, "forgive and forget," insisted that there was one man 
whose acts ought never to be forgiven by Englishmen, and that 
man was the Prime Minister of England. After such speeches 
as these, Mr. Gladstone arose, to clinch their denunciations with 
his own. As at Blackheath, he was received with deafening 
cheers. Repudiating the accusation that these meetings were 
held for the purpose of embarrassing the Government, he 
charged Lord Beaconsfield with pursuing a policy which he 
knew was in direct antagonism to the sentiment of the country; 
it was not until the Aylesbury speech that Lord Beaconsfield had 
given any evidence that he thought England had duties toward 
the Christian population of Turkey. This acknowledgment was 
one which the Opposition had tried in vain to draw from the 
Ministry during the last session; the first declaration of this 
knowledge was made by Sir Stafford Horthcote, who had re- 



In Opposition. 



331 



marked, during a speech somewhere in the North, " Of course 
we are all aware of our duties to the Christian population of 
Turkey." Mr. Gladstone said that he was glad they were aware 
of it, but the recognition of that obligation was not to be found 




Lord Shaftesbury. 

in the proceedings of Parliament or the official correspondence 
for the past year. 

Expressing a hope that Lord Salisbury's instructions were not 
in accordance with Lord Beaconsfield's recent speech at Guild- 
hall, which had so directly influenced the Czar, he trusted that 
the English representative would be permitted to give scope 



332 In Opposition. 

to his own generous instincts, and that the Plenipotentiaries in 
general would insist upon the future independence of the provin- 
ces, or at least upon such a form of government as would insure 
them freedom from oppression. 

While the meetings at St. James' Hall were not without their 
effect, their influence would have been even deeper and wider if 
it had not been for the fact that the Conference at Constan- 
tinople was sitting, and was expected to accomplish all that 
could be hoped. These hopes were, however, doomed to be dis- 
appointed ; for the Conference found its demands rejected by the 
Turkish Government. These demands had finally been reduced 
to two : that the Powers should nominate an International Com- 
mission, without executive powers ; and that the Sultan should 
appoint governors-general, holding their office for the term of 
five years, the appointments to be subject to the approval of 
the guaranteeing Governments. But the "Unspeakable Turk," 
as Mr. Gladstone was fond of apostrophizing the brutal Ma- 
hometans, found these propositions "contrary to their integrity, 
independence and dignity," and would have none of them. 

The responsibility of this situation of affairs, Mr. Gladstone 
did not hesitate to declare, belonged to the Government. He 
ajnd his friends had been told to mind their own business. To 
this exceedingly impolite injunction, the statesman replied that 
the Eastern Question was their own business. 

The plea was urged that the Treaty of 1856 had been broken. 
To this he made answer that Turkey had trampled all treaties 
under foot. If the treaties were in force, they were as binding 
upon Turkey as upon England ; but when one disregarded them 
the other was not bound to observe them. 

When Parliament opened, in February, the war which had 
hcen raging in meetings and other public gatherings broke out 
afresh in the two Houses. In reply to the Duke of Argyll, who 
had urged the necessity for decisive action upon the Govern- 
ment, the Premier said that any interference at the present 
would tend to make the condition of the Turkish Christians 
worse than it was at this time. Mr. Gladstone, in the House of 
Commons, enlarged upon the contradictory statements of recent 
negotiations, Foreign Office documents, the Queen's speech, and 
the orations of the Ministers. Mr. Hardy replied for the Gov- 
ernment, and said that the time had not yet come for England 
to cut this Gordian knot with the sword. 



In Opposition. 



333 



Mr. Chaplin complained that Mr. Gladstone and other Liber- 
als had endeavored to regulate the sentiment of the country by 
the publication of pamphlets upon the subject, and by the deliv- 
ery of numerous speeches, and by the so-called National Con- 
ference at St. James'. There was one of two things which Mr. 
Gladstone must do — he must either make good or withdraw his 
assertions; there was was no other course which was open to a 
man of honor. The last expression was ruled out by the Speak- 
er as unparliamentary, and it was accordingly withdrawn. Mr. 
Chaplin then went on 
to say that he regret- 
ted most sincerely Mr. 
Gladstone's course du- 
ring the recess ; he had 
done so much to impair 
the respect and esteem 
which were felt for 
him by all members of 
the House and to shake 
to its foundations the 
reputation, of a man 
whom all England had 
long been accustomed 
to regard as one of the 
greatest of her sons. 
He moved the adjourn- 
ment of the debate. 

Mr. Gladstone's re- 
ply to this attack was 
an impromptu one, Duke °f Ar 9V lL 

which fully sustained his reputation as one of the ablest debaters 
who ever sat in the House of Commons. In seconding the mo- 
tion for an adjournment, he said that he was surprised to be ac- 
cused, for the first time in a public career extending over near- 
ly half a century, of an unwillingness to meet his opponents in 
fair fight. Why had not the honorable gentleman attended those 
meetings of which he complained so much? He spoke of his own 
reluctance to enter upon this question, and declared that it was 
only the strength of the public sentiment which had made him 
feel an avoidance of its manifestation impossible. He admjnjs,:: 
tered a scathing rebuke to Lord George Hamilton^ who had in- 




334 



In Opposition. 




terrupted him twice, and then turned again to the original 
assailant. Upon him the floods of wrath were poured. If he 
(Mr. Gladstone) by his speeches and his pamphlet had done all 
this mischief, why did not Mr. Chaplin write another pamphlet, 
and make other speeches, which would set the people right? It 
was the nation which had led the leaders and the classes in this 
matter, not the classes and the leaders who had led the nation • 
the speeches and pamphlet had been no more than the match 

which is applied to fuel 
already prepared. The 
attack had been a viru- 
lent one ; the reply was 
such as to make Mr. Chap- 
lin sincerely regret that 
he had aroused the sleep- 
ing lion. Said Mr. Glad- 
.''' stone: 

i| " He says, sir, that I 

% have been an inflamma- 
tory agitator, and that as 
IKj soon as I have got into 
jllPl this House I have no dis- 
ffigl position to chant in the 
Wj/I same key. But before 
^F these debates are over, 
j§? before this question is set- 
tled, the honorable gen- 
tleman will know more 
about my opinions than 
he knows at present, or is likely to know to-night. I am not about 
to reveal now to the honorable gentleman the secrets of a mind so 
inferior to his own. I am not so young as to think that his obliging 
inquiries supply me with opportunities the most advantageous to 
the public interest for laying out the plan of a campaign. By the 
time the honorable member is as old as I am, if he comes in his turn 
to be accused of cowardice by a man of the next generation to 
himself, he probably may find it convenient to refer to the reply 
I am now making, and to make it a model, or, at all events, to 
take from it hints and suggestions, with which to dispose of the 
antagonist that may then rise against him. * * * I will tell 
the honorable gentleman something in answer to his questions, 



Lord George Hamilton. 



In Opposition. 335 

and it is that I will tell him nothing at all. I will take my 
own counsel, and beg to inform him that he shall have no rea- 
son whatever to complain, when the accounts come to be settled 
and east up at the end of the whole matter, of any reticence or 
suppressions on my part." 

Mr. Gladstone went on to correct the mis-statements of what 
he had really said at Taunton. He had said that it was neces- 
sary to watch closely the policy of the Government; that he 
had great confidence in Lord Salisbury, but he did not know 
whether the Government had one policy or two. This was the 
greatest question, he added, which had come before Parliament 
in his time; and it behooved all who were responsible for the 
course of England to consider that course most carefully. He 
urged upon them the setting aside of all party considerations, 
and the duty of striving to the utmost that justice should be 
done. 

It is rare that Mr. Gladstone condescended to a personal 
speech; he was in general so taken up with measures that he 
had no time in which to consider men; his opposition to the 
course which a Government might pursue did not involve any 
personal animosity to its members ; but the above extracts will 
show that he was perfectly able to defend himself when neces- 
sary. Certainly Mr. Chaplin was provided with an excellent 
model for the repelling of future attacks on himself. 

The appeal which closed this speech was received with pro- 
tracted cheering. Such was its effect upon those who heard it, 
that the Chancellor of the Exchequer himself remarked that he 
was not surprised at the enthusiastic applause which followed 
the speech. 

Mr. Gladstone's pamphlet before mentioned had argued that 
the only way to secure any permanent good for the Christian 
provinces of Turkey was to turn the Turkish officials " bag and 
baggage" out of them. His enemies were not slow to quote 
garbled extracts from this argument to prove that Mr. Glad- 
stone favored nothing less than the expulsion of all the Turks 
from Europe. Against this accusation, and against the charge 
that he had advocated a different policy at the close of the Crim- 
ean war from that which he upheld now, he was obliged to de- 
fend himself in Parliament as well as out of it. But the mis- 
chief was more easily done than undone. He was represented 
as demanding the instant expulsion of every Turk — man, wo- 




Marquis of Salisbury — Premier of Gi'eat Britain. 



336 



In Opposition. 3&7 

man and child — from Europe; if this were done, the Eussians 
would at once occupy Constantinople, and the power of Eussia 
be indefinitely increased. Lord Beaconsfield, on the other hand, 
was opposed to any extension of the Czar's dominions, and took 
great care to keep this continually before the minds of the , 
people. There were many sneers, too, from the Government and i 
its supporters, about sentimentality introduced in questions of 
statesmanship. Thus it came to pass that Lord Beaconsfield 
was looked upon as the champion of England, and the enemy of 
her enemy; while his great rival was openly accused of being 
the friend and instrument of Eussia, by thousands of English- 
men who honestly believed what they said. So, by degrees, 
the great masses of the people began to look with different eyes 
upon the war, and to think that the interests of the country 
were perhaps safe in Beaconsfield's hands after all. 

But Mr. Gladstone was not left without supporters of his 
cause. There were still many who thought as he did. A close 
observer has said that men who prided themselves upon being 
practical politicians upheld the course of the Government, main- 
taining that Turkey must be held as a barrier against Eussia at 
all hazards; while men who held that sound politics cannot ex- 
ist without sound morals, protested with the Liberal chief against 
England making herself responsible for the crimes of Turkey. 
The one cried out for the interests of morality, the other for the 
interests of England; and exclaimed against the ambition of 
Eussia or the atrocities of Turkey, as the case might be. 

A Protocol was signed at the English Foreign Office on the 
last day of March, 1877, stating that the Powers intended to 
watch carefully over the Christian provinces of Turkej", and if 
their condition should not be improved, in accordance with the 
demands which had already been made, in such a way as to pre- 
vent the return of the complications which periodically disturb- 
ed the peace of the East, such a state of affairs would be con- 
sidered incompatible with the interests of Europe in general, 
and the Powers in particular. The Turkish Government pro- 
tested against the humiliating situation in which it was placed 
by the Protocol, and Eussia accordingly declared war April 
24th. A week later, England, France, and Italy issued proclam- 
ations of strict neutrality. 

On the 7th of May, Mr. Gladstone gave notice of certain reso- 
lutions which he intended to move, and which on the face of 

22 



338 In Opposition. 

them were extremely hostile to the foreign policy of the Gov- 
ernment. Many members of the Liberal party declined to sup- 
port them, on the ground that they pledged England to co-op- 
erate with Russia's policy of force; and Mr. Gladstone ultim- 
ately amended them so that they did little more than affirm that 
Turkej T had forfeited all claim to moral or material support from 
the British Crown. 

In the speech which introduced these altered resolutions to 
the House, Mr. Gladstone called attention to the vast numbers 
of meetings which were being held for the discussion of the 
subject; and asserted that in nineteen cases out of twenty, the 
general scope of the resolutions passed at these meetings had 
been co-extensive with, not the mild and moderate declarations 
which he now offered to the consideration of the House, but the 
more incisive statements which he had first proposed. His speech 
was a noble effort; fixing the responsibility for the atrocities 
upon the shoulders of the Turkish Government, he declared that 
the remonstrances of England had no effect, because the Porte 
knew that they began and ended in mere words. He taught them 
what right the Christians of Turkey had to look to Christian 
Europe for protection against their Mussulman masters ; he told 
of the time when England was the hope of freedom, when the 
eyes of the oppressed were always turned to her, as the home of 
so much privilege and so much happiness; and pleaded thatthis 
should still be the light in which she was regarded. He told 
of the heroism of the Montenegrins and the Bulgarians; and 
what a great and noble prize was the privilege of removing their 
load of woe and shame. 

The debate lasted for five nights, and some of the most elo- 
quent speakers in the House, if not all of them, were heard up- 
on the subject. Some of the Liberals spoke in support of the 
Government, whose policy was defined, now that the war had 
actually begun, as one of strict neutrality; among these was Mr. 
Roebuck, who, however, paid high tribute to Mr. Gladstone as 
" a man whom the country has believed to be one of its greatest 
and most deserving and patriotic Ministers at one time or an- 
other; a man endowed with great ability, with vast power, with 
a winning manner, and whose influence in this House has been 
almost illimitable." It is well said by one of Mr. Gladstone's 
biographers that it was the high moral courage and loftiness of 
purpose which had been so conspicuously displayed in his atti- 



In Opposition. 839 

tude upon that Eastern Question, which had given him this " al- 
most illimitable" influence. 

Lord Hartington, who had opposed the resolutions in their 
original shape, was now one of their most determined support- 
ers. Mr. Gladstone, in closing the debate, pointed out the dif- 
ferent courses which the Government had seemed to pursue at 
different times. He did not believe that the time when united 
Europe could make an authoritative demand had gone by; that 
demand should be made at once; coercion did not mean war. If 
Eussia failed in the work which she had undertaken, he pointed 
out, the condition of the Christian Provinces would be infinitely 
worse than it had ever been before ; if she succeeded, as she de- 
served to do in such a cause, the performance of such a work 
would secure for her undying fame ; when that day came, he con- 
cluded — 

" When that work shall be accomplished, though it would not 
be in the way and by the means I would have chosen, as an Eng- 
lishman I shall hide my head, but as a man I shall rejoice. Nev- 
ertheless, to my latest day I shall exclaim : Would God that in 
this crisis the voice of the nation had been suffered to prevail; 
would God that in this great, this holy deed, England had not 
been refused her share I" 

But the eloquence was in vain ; the re-action against the so- 
called sentimentalism had strengthened the hands of the Govern- 
ment; and the first resolution was defeated by a majority of one 
hundred and thirty-one. 

Mr. Gladstone addressed a large meeting at Birmingham, be- 
fore the close of the session, upon the topic of the hour; and up- 
on his return from a visit to Ireland in the autumn he again 
spoke at various points. While the country, as represented by 
the House of Commons, seemed to be content with a policy of 
strict neutrality and watchfulness, the people themselves seem 
never to have tired of hearing the great advocate of the rights 
of the Turkish Christians. 

In November of this year Mr. Gladstone was again elected 
Lord Rector of the University of Edinburgh, Lord Beaconsfield 
retiring. His opponent was Sir Stafford Northcote, the Chancel- 
lor of the Exchequer ; but the member of the Government re- 
ceived only a little more than one-third the whole number of 
votes polled. 

We need not follow the fortunes of the Russians and the Turks 



340 In Opposition. 

upon the field of battle, or tell of the fall of Kars and Plevna, or 
the capture of Schipka Pass. It is enough here to record that 
on the 23rd of January, 1878, the Turkish Plenipotentiaries at 
Adrianople received orders from the Porte to accept the bases 
of peace as submitted to them by the Grand Duke Nicholas. 

J fi+u-t y**. est*. tcfisi/ZA U. IdZ 

Fac-Simile of Mr. Gladstone's Letter to Lord Beaconsfield. 

A week after this, Mr. Gladstone addressed a meeting which 
was held at Oxford, by a number of the under-graduat.es, to cele- 
brate the formation of a Liberal Palmerston Club. He said that 
for the past eighteen months he had been styled an agitator ; the 
accusation was well founded ; during that period he had been an 



In Opposition. 841 

agitator. He had never once lost sight of his purpose, which was 
to counterwork what he believed to be the policy of Lord 
Beaconsfield. The vote of credit for which the Government had 
asked he condemned as the most indefensible proposition which 
had been in his time submitted to Parliament. 

Lord Beaconsfield attacked Mr. Gladstone for the personalities 
which he had used in his various speeches upon the subject. Mr. 
Gladstone courteously requested that reference to those person- 
alities should be furnished him; the Premier declined to search 
over the speeches of the past two and one-half years, and admit- 
ted that certain expressions which he had accused his opponent 
of using were not to be found in the Oxford speech or elsewhere. 
This was the only reparation which Mr. Gladstone could obtain 
from the brilliant but erratic Minister of the Crown. 

In the House debate upon the vote of credit, Mr. Gladstone 
alluded to the vileness of the motives which had been con- 
stantly imputed to him, while he had not impugned the motives 
of any one. He was willing, however, to let bygones be by- 
gones ; and with this amicable declaration proceeded to give his 
reasons for opposing the vote proposed. It would not strengthen 
the hands of the Government; it was unconstitutional, because its 
necessity had not been clearly shown; it would be destructive 
of the peaceful character of the Conference which was about to 
meet, thus to usher it in with the news that the war establish- 
ment of England, which was now upon an equality with that of 
other Powers, should be thus increased upon the eve of its meet- 
ing. 

The Government would have the support of the Opposition, he 
said, if certain points were insisted upon at the Conference. A 
cession of Roumanian territory, which would interfere with the 
freedom of the mouth of the Danuoe, must be resisted; the 
claims of the subject races to a fair and just government must be 
supported ; though he saw no reason wh} 7 Bulgaria, having re- 
lied upon the efforts of others for her liberty, should not pay a 
tribute. He suggested that the Government should postpone the 
proposed vote for a time, and renew it if it became necessary; 
and closed by saying that an address should bo presented to the 
Queen by both Houses, expressing their readiness to support the 
Government in bringing about a permanent peace. 

The vote of credit was ultimately carried by a very large ma- 
jority, the Marquis of Hartiugton and several other Tominent 



S42 In Opposition. 

Liberals not voting at all. Shortly afterward, the conditions of 
the treaty were announced • but the terms were regarded as op- 
pressive by the British Government, and the demand was made 
that the whole question should be submitted to the proposed 
Congress at Berlin. 

Before the end of the month (March) there was considerable 
public uneasiness in England. Not only were the chances very 
shadowy that the Berlin Congress would ever meet, but the Gov- 
ernment had taken the extreme step of calling out the reserves. 
In consequence of this action of the Cabinet, Lord Derby resign- 
ed his post as Foreign Secretary. The Marquis of Salisbury be- 
came his successor, and distinctly expressed the opinion that a 
Congress under the .limitations on which Prince Gortschakoff 
insisted would not consult the interests which England was 
bound to guard, nor the well-being of the regions with which 
the treaty dealt. A long diplomatic correspondence ensued, and 
Salisbury and Gortschakoff finally agreed upon terms, so that the 
Congress met the last of June. 

The course which Lord Beaconsfield took in connection with 
this Congress was a surprise to most persons. He was himself 
one of the Plenipotentiaries of England, Lord Salisbury being 
the other. It was the first instance in which a Prime Minister 
had left England, while Parliament was sitting, to act as the rep- 
resentative of England abroad. It was an irresistible temptation 
to one of his nature, essentially barbaric in its love of show and 
state and pomp, and its manifestation was fitly termed "Jingo- 
ism" by his opponents. His journey to Berlin was almost a tri- 
umphal progress; at every station crowds turned out to look 
upon him — the determined enemy of Russia 

It suited the plans of Prince Bismarck that at this time he 
should act as peacemaker ; and ho was a most effectual one. The 
Congress of Berlin was in session but a month before the four or 
five distinct and important questions were decided, the treaty 
prepared and signed. Lord Beaconsfield returned home. If he 
had been honored when he set out upon this mission, what shall 
we say of his reception when he returned ? It was a series of 
ovations, from the time that he landed upon English soil until he 
reached London. He had brought back " Peace with Honor," 
he told the wildly enthusiastic crowds that had gathered about 
the Foreign Office to hear the popular idol speak ; and the phrase 
was caught up, like so many others from his speeches, and ran 



In Opposition. 343 

like wildfire. It was the highest altitude that he had yet attain- 
ed in the minds of men. It was the highest that he was ever to 
attain. 

Meanwhile, what was the standing of Mr. Gladstone in the 
popular estimation? In the provinces, Liberalism was still pop- 
ular ; and the Liberal chief would still have been sure of the 
cheers of a great provincal meeting. But in the metropolis, 
which often stands for the whole country, so much more loudly 
are its opinions expressed, he was completely overshadowed by 
the glory of his rival. Of the great newspapers, the daily News 
was the only one which did not laud Beaconsfield to the skies; 
the Spectator and the Echo were allies of the News among the 
weeklies, but there was not one besides. Nor was it the newspa- 
pers alone that were opposed to him; they reflected the public sen- 
timent of the city. There now came a day when this man, who 
had held the highest office in the gift of his sovereign, and had 
commanded an overwhelming majority of the representatives of 
the people, could not pass through the streets of London in safe- 
ty with his wife by his side; but was obliged to seek the shelter 
of a friendly hall door, until the little mob of patriots returning 
from a Jingo carnival should have ceased their threatening dem- 
onstrations. 

Secure in the consciousness of his own rectitude, Mr. Glad- 
stone did not falter in the course which he had marked out for 
himself, but pursued it as calmly and with as certain a step as if 
he Bad been supported by such a majority as had voted with the 
earliest measures of his Ministry. The employment of the In- 
dian troops, who had been ordered to Malta by the Government, 
gave rise to a spirited debate. The Chancellor of the Exchequer 
was accused by Mr. Gladstone of an unconstitutional act in con- 
cealing a heavy item of expense which he knew was to be incur- 
red; the Government ought to have consulted the House upon 
the subject before taking any action at all. By their violation 
of the Bill of Eights and the Indian Government act, they had 
made a most dangerous precedent. But the clear violation of 
the statutes was supported, as Lord Beaconsfield had calculated 
it would be, by many whose eyes were dazzled by the glory 
achieved in bringing home " Peace with Honor." Men had not 
yet discovered that what was so called was, emphatically, "Peace 
without Honor." The Government was supported by a majority 
of more than a hundred when the question came to a vote. The 



344 In Opposition. 

Marquis of Salisbury compared his relative and predecessor, the 
Earl of Derby, to Titus Oates ; an article of Mr. Gladstone's in the 
Nineteenth Century was made the pretext for a charge of treason, 
which was gravely brought against him in the House of Com- 
mons. But the Conservatives themselves saw that this was carry- 
ing things a little too far j and the motion was quietly dropped, 

Mr. Gladstone was "not greatly concerned" about this accusa- 
tion ; if it were treason to speak in condemnation of the Gov- 
ernment's course, he was determined that there should be no 
hall way guilt ; having been thus warned of the consequences, 
he went on exactly as he had been doing. In an address deliver- 
ed toward the last of July at a meeting of Liberals in Bermond- 
sey,hepointed outthe necessity forunion in the party; postponing 
merely sectional questions, out of consideration to the elections 
which would follow dissolution, now not long to be delayed. He 
spoke freely concerning the course which the Government had 
pursued, and while he expressed his satisfaction that it was not 
the Liberals who had carried through such measures, he regret- 
ted that there was any party in England capable of such a 
course. 

Shortly before the close of the session, a great debate upon the 
whole of the Eastern Question was brought about by a resolu- 
tion which Lord Hartington proposed, affirming that the House 
was dissatisfied with the provisions of the Berlin Treaty; the 
undefined engagements entered into by the Government having 
imposed heavy responsibilities upon the State, with no means of 
securing their fufillrnent; such engagements having been enter- 
ed into without the knowledge or consent of Parliament* Mr. 
Gladstone's speech on this occasion was characterized as " un- 
surpassable for its cemprehensive grasp of the subject, its lu- 
cidity, point, and the high tone which animated it throughout." 
Lord Beaconsfield had alleged that his attacks upon the Govern- 
ment constituted a personal provocation. If criticism of this 
kind were forbidden, he said, they might as well shut the doors 
of the House. " The liberty of speech which we enjoy, and the 
publicity which attends our political life and action are, I be- 
lieve, the matters in Avhich we have the greatest amount of ad- 
vantage over some other countries of the civilized world. That 
liberty of speech is the liberty which secures all other liberties, 
and the abridgment of which would render all other liberties 
yain and useless possessions." 



In Opposition. 



345 



But the majority of the Ministers were still unchanged; and the 
resolutions were lost by a large adverse vote. There was a 




The Front Opposition Bench in a Night Sessio?i During the 
Beaconsfield Administration. 



growing fear, however, that the Imperial Policy of the Govern- 
ment was working against the interests of the people; and that 



346 In Opposition. 

the course which the Ministry had marked out, would, if pursu- 
sued to its legitimate end, make the English Parliament what 
Napoleon III. had made the French Parliament — a merely form- 
al assembly which was really powerless to resist his will. 

It would have been the part of wisdom if Beaconsfield had 
dissolved immediately after his return from Berlin. A dissolu- 
tion was confidently expected by all, but their expectations were 
disappointed. He was urged by some of his advisers not to 
put the country to the expense of a general election at that 
time, as the drain caused by bad trade had been so heavy as to 
make this course unadvisable. It would have given him an ir- 
resistible majority had he appealed to the country in the first 
flush of his immense popularity; but he failed to do so. From 
that time, his star having reached its zenith, began to decline. 
There were many circumstances which combined to destroy the 
prestige which the Ministry had acquired; some of these would 
have operated equally against any Government which might 
have been in existence at that time ; bat by far the greater 
number of reasons for the final fall of the Conservatives was 
due to their own actions. 

The secret engagements which the Plenipotentaries had en- 
tered into with both Eussia and Turkey became known, and did 
much to rob Beaconsfield of all the honor which he had gained 
by his part in the treaty, and perhaps more. When all was 
known, people saw that this professed enemy of Eussia had ce- 
ded to her all that she demanded ; that of those provisions 
of the treaty of 1856 which had been distasteful to her, not one 
remained in force. Nor was this all. To counterbalance the 
concessions which had thus been made to Eussia, England had 
agreed to guarantee to Turkey all her Asiatic possessions against 
all invasion, on condition that Turkey handed over Cyprus to 
her, to be used as a place of arms. Thus it was made manifest 
that the Congress of Berlin was a mere piece of empty show, 
and that "Peace with Honor" had been secured by agreeing 
beforehand to give the enemy what was demanded. 

There were other circumstances besides this, which was not 
wholly sufficient to have accomplished such a result. There 
was great depression of trade throughout the country; the 
Government was not of course responsible for this in the first 
place; but their policy, which had consisted so largely of a se- 
ries of surprises, had tended to unsettle affairs and make hard 



In Opposition. cl4t 

times still harder through the uncertainty of the future. They 
had not satisfied the country party, to which the Conservatives 
are always so largely indebted ; the malt tax remained a griev- 
ance, in spite of the strictures upon the course pursued by the 
Gladstone Government; and they had begun to clash with the 
Home Eule party, which was then beginning a new life. The 
former leader of this organization, Mr. Butt, had long been fail- 
ing in health, and of late months his place had been supplied by 
a young man who was destined to become far more prominent 
than Mr. Butt — the most remarkable politician, says McCarthy, 
who had arisen on the field of Irish politics since the day when 
John Mitchell was conveyed away from Dublin to Bermuda. This 
was Charles Stewart Parnell, whose obstructive policy was, during 
this administration, highly successful. The Government was 
blamed for allowing the course of legislation to be thus imped- 
ed ; but good-natured men of respectable ability and no great 
force of character, like the Chancellor of the Exchequer, were 
hnable to come off victor in a contest where such tactics were 
employed. A new chapter of the Irish Question would begin be- 
fore the Eastern difficulty was fairly settled ; and those who dis- 
liked the prospect blamed the Government that it should be so. 

In addition to all this, there was an evident disagreement 
among the members of the Cabinet as to the general tendency 
of the policy of the Ministry. In his speeches in the House of 
Lords, the Premier always endeavored to magnify his office, and 
to glorify the ambitious imperial policy which he had adopted. 
When such a speech was made, Sir Stafford Northcote and Mr. 
Cross would follow it up with explanations in the House of Com- 
mons of all the questionable points and reduced to the most 
practicable limits the objects of the ruling foreign policy. 

Mr. Gladstone having announced his intention of retiring 
from the representation of Greenwich at the next general elec- 
tion, paid a farewell visit to his constituency Nov. 30th. In a 
speech delivered before a meeting of the Liberal Association, he 
urged upon them the necessity for united action ; the votes 
which the Liberal party had given to its opponent at the last 
election were twenty-six in number; and the Government had at 
times been carried on for years with a majority no greater. At a 
subsequent meeting, an address was presented, expressing the 
regret of his constituents that he should have thought it neces- 
sary to retire from the representation of this borough. 



348 



In Opposition i 



The position of the Government with regard to Russia was a 
subject upon which he dwelt with special emphasis in his reply- 
to this address, showing that while the Opposition had been 
charged with undue leanings to that Power, the Ministry had been 
the real friend of her ambition; since it was the British Govern- 
ment which had been concerned in the conclusion of that treaty 




Sir Stafford Northcote {afterward Earl of Iddesleigh). 

which had given her all that she had lost in 1856. Passing from 
this topic to the subject of the Afghan War, which was then just 
begun, he blamed the Government severely for its injustice to an 
inferior Power, on which it had forced a war. 

This war was another thing which contributed to make the 
Ministry less popular. The Ameer had declined to receive Euro- 
pean Residents at his capital ; Russia, in violation of the treaty by 



In Opposition. 349 

which she had covenanted to exercise no influence in Afghanis- 
tan, sent a Mission thither, which, when the English Govern- 
ment remonstrated, she declared was no more than a Mission of 
courtesy. The Government " sang small to Russia," as Mr. 
Gladstone expressed it, but dispatched troops to Afghanistan, to 
force the Ameer to receive an English Resident. The war had 
been begun upon the responsibility of the Ministry; Parliament 
would shortly be called upon to divide the responsibility with 
them ; and to the people, who would soon have to indorse or re- 
pudiate the policy of the Government, he called for a rebuke of 
this great injustice. His closing words are significant, not only 
in connection with this long-past war, but considered as a com- 
mentary upon all governmental action : 

"It is written in the eternal laws of the universe of God that 
sin shall be followed by suffering. An unjust war is a tremend- 
ous sin. The question which you have to consider is whether 
this war is just or unjust. So far as I am able to collect the evi- 
dence, it is unjust. It fills me with the greatest alarm lest it 
should be proved to be grossly and totally unjust. If so, we 
should come under the stroke of the everlasting law that suffer- 
ing shall follow sin ; and the day will arrive, come it soon or 
come it late, when the people of England will discover that 
national injustice is the surest road to national downfall." 

There was a short session of Parliament held in December, 
during which there was a long debate upon this war. Mr. Glad- 
stone's speech was a powerful arraignment of the Government for 
the blunders and the negligence which, joined to its insane desire 
for the extension of its imperial policy, had led to this war. The 
vote of censure was, however, defeated; though it is not improb- 
able that many voted for the Government who were really op- 
posed to this war, but would not lend their voice to call for the 
downfall of Disraeli. 

A question which engaged the attention of the House of Com- 
mons early in the session of 1879 was the claims of Greece, 
which had been provided for by a Protocol of the Berlin Con- 
gress; but which the English Government had taken no steps 
toward recognizing. Mr. Gladstone supported the resolution 
which called for an inquiry into the state of the case, and urged 
the redemption of the pledges which had been given by England. 
The Chancellor of the Exchequer replied that the matter was 
one which engaged the serious attention of the Government, and 



350 In Opposition. 

he hoped that his assurance of that fact would be sufficient for 
the House. It was sufficient, and the question was allowed to 
rest upon the promise of the Government ; a promise, which, we 
need hardly say, there was never any attempt made to fulfill. 

There was a debate of some importance upon the use which 
the Beaconsfield Ministry had made of the Prerogative; and a 
motion was introduced by Mr. Dillwyn, affirming that it was 
necessary to look more strictly into the mode and limits of its 
action, in order to correct the growing extension and abuse of it 
by the Ministry, who had used the supposed personal interposi- 
tion of the Sovereign to forward their policy. Mr. Gladstone 
said that this abuse of the Prerogative had been sanctioned in 
every case by a large majority, and that censure ought to be di- 
rected against the whole number of members who composed that 
majority. 

After a debate upon the Zulu war, which is of little interest 
now, we find what is the first instance of serious conflict be- 
tween Mr. Gladstone and Mr. Parnell. The Speaker had order- 
ed notes of the proceedings and debates of the House to be tak- 
en for his own private use. The Home Eulers interpreted this 
as aimed especially against their small but active party; and Mr. 
Parnell brought forward a resolution that this was contrary to 
precedent, a breach of the privileges of Parliament, and a dan- 
ger to the liberty and independence of debate. Mr. Gladstone 
was among the first to speak upon the subject, after the resolu- 
tion had been proposed. It was the first instance which he had 
witnessed of a House impugning the motives of its Speaker. He 
demanded that the motion should be subjected to a direct nega- 
tive ; this was done, and a majority of two hundred and sixty- 
eight, in a House but half full, demonstrated that the Home 
Eulers could not depend on any one but the immediate members 
of their own party in such a question. 

The Liberals, led by Mr. Gladstone and Lord Hartington, 
made a gallant effort to abolish corporal punishment in the 
army; but the Government, so rapidly losing prestige outside, 
was still strong in the House ; and they were not successful. 

Nor was the financial policy such as the great financier could 
approve. The course of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in 
submitting two budgets a year, was subversive of the principle 
that the Government should be immediately dependent upon 
Parliament for a ratification of its plans in this, respect, Mr. 



In Opposition. 



351 



Gladstone's denunciations of the Government have been called 
unmeasured and unwarrantable ; but surely he whose own ex- 
cellence in this department of the Administration has never been 
questioned was entitled to judge of the success which others had 
attained, and the measure of praise or censure which justly be- 
longed to them. He had done the work well ; the present Gov- 
ernment was not content until it had reversed every point of his 
domestic policy. The future pointed out which was the wiser 
course. 




John Stuart Mill. 

It would seem, indeed, that the Conservative party has never 
possessed the wisdom of the Liberals, in dealing with questions 
which affect the domestic policy of the Government. The Tories 
have never led in such matters, but have been content to follow, at 
long distances in some cases, in the footsteps of their rivals on 
the path of reform. Part of this disposition is doubtless due to 
the composition of the party, which includes many timid and 
fearful souls. Some there are, as Mr. Gladstone once pointed out 
in speaking of Sir Robert Peel and other leaders, who have been 
as far advanced as the Liberal leaders themselves ; but there is 



In Opposition. 353 

much meaning in John Stuart Mill's dictum regarding this party. 
He had been accused of saying that they were all stupid. " I 
did not say that all Conservatives were stupid," he replied, with 
elaborate care; "what I did say was that all stupid people are 
Conservatives." 

The House of Commons was becoming demoralized. What 
would have been the case if Mr. Disraeli had retained the leader- 
ship, it is impossible to say ; but Sir Stafford North cote generally 
tried to be strong where he ought to have been yielding, and 
was frequently compelled to be yielding where he ought to have 
been strong. A scheme for university education in Ireland was 
brought in by the Government, which was really a mutilation of 
Mr. Gladstone's rejected measure. It was carried through both 
Houses very quickly, and the Ministers flattered themselves that 
they had secured the attachment of the Irish without alienating 
their Conservative supporters in Great Britain. But the Irish 
were not conciliated by a law which did not concede nearly 
enough of their demands ; and many of the Non-conformists were 
offended even by this moderate measure. 

The Liberals loudly demanded dissolution. The Parliament 
would expire by limitation the next year, and many of the Op- 
position, among whom Mr. Gladstone was the most prominent, 
urged that the Parliament ought not to run to its full length. 
But the Government would not listen to this argument; indeed, 
the persistency with which they shut their ears to it caused the 
frequent remark that they were afraid to meet the people at the 
polls. This once said, it was eagerly caught up by the Liberals, 
who insisted vehemently that all they wished was an appeal to 
the people. Perhaps in their hearts they were not at all certain 
of the effect of such an appeal ; but they kept up a bold front 
and persistently demanded dissolution. The more the challenge 
was repeated, the more the Government held back. The result 
of several bye-elections during the autumn of 1879 and the suc- 
ceeding winter revived the spirits of the Conservatives, which 
had begun to droop under the persistent boasts of the rival paz-- 
ty ; and of course had the opposite effect upon the Liberals. It 
mattered little that in the most notable of these Conservative 
victories the question had been one of men rather than of par- 
ties, and that the personal popularity of the successful candidate 
was such that defeat would have been most improbable; the ef- 
fect upon the parties was the same. 
23 






^ 
§ 




354 



In Opposition. 355 

Becoming the candidate for Midlothian, in the latter part of 
the year 1879 Mr. Gladstone visited Scotland and poured out 
the floods of his eloquence in vigorous attacks on the Govern- 
ment and its policy. His progress through "the land o' cakes" 
was a continued ovation from all classes. Receptions, proces- 
sions, illuminations, followed one after the other, while the 
"'Grand Old Man" delivered his most telling and sledge-hammer- 
like blows upon his opponents. Scotland has generally been 
loyal to her eminent son, and it seemed as if the enthusiasm of 
the people knew no bounds. 

Returned to the House by his usual triumphant majority, Par- 
liament met in February, and there was no promise of a dis- 
solution before the expiration of the legal term. It was to be 
a fair working session, the Government declared. Suddenly, to 
the surprise of all, it was announced that they had accepted Mr. 
Gladstone's challenge ; they would dissolve at the Easter recess. 
The dissolution accordingly took place March 24th, 1880, and 
writs were at once issued for a new election. For a graphic de- 
scription of the result, the reader is advised to turn back to the 
page where Mr. Disraeli's words arc quoted as the most eloquent 
account of the rout of the Opposition in Lord Derby's time. 
Put "Ministerial" in place of "Opposition," and the change 
makes it entirely applicable. 

With all the buoyancy of youth, Mr. Gladstone immediately 
returned to Scotland, and the scenes of his just previous visit 
and election were gone through with again, with, if possible, 
more enthusiasm than before. Speech followed speech, and po- 
litical excitement raged in all its intensity. Of the result here 
and over the whole kingdom, there is no need to speak. Local 
influence and opposition in every shape were doomed to igno- 
minious failure. Young Lord Rosebery, standing by his side on 
the balcony of the Rosebery mansion at Edinburgh on the even- 
ing of April 5th, declared to the delighted populace heaving and 
cheering below, that "it was a great night for Midlothian, for 
Scotland, for Great Britain, and for the world," whilst a wag in 
the crowd capped the climax by adding, "and a bad night for 
Dizzy." 

For the very first day of the election demonstrated that the 
Conservatives would be defeated. The certainty was made more 
apparent as time went on ; defeat became disaster; disaster be- 
came utter rout, The Liberals came back to power with & ma," 



356 



In Opposition. 



jority of a hundred and twenty — unparalleled in the history of 
the party. 

There had been one man who had brought this about, by a 
persistence under defeat which had scarcely been rivalled by 
Beaconsfield himself. When others would have sat still, folding 
their hands when they saw that failure was inevitable at the 




Mr. Gladstone Speaking at Lord Rosebery's House after the Election. 

time, he hud labored. "He had dragged his party after him 
into many a danger. He had compelled them more than once 
to fight where many of them would fain have held back, and 
where none of them saw any chance of victory. Now, at last, 
the battle had been given into his hands, and it was a matter of 
necessity that the triumph should bring back to power the man 
whose energy and eloquence had inspired the struggle/' To him 



in Opposition. 851 

all eyes in Britain were turned as the next Prime Minister. 
But the Queen, whose shining domestic virtues are not incom- 
patible with an overweening appreciation of her own dignity, 




Chancellor Northcote Announcing the Dissolution of Parliament. 

could not forgive the overthrow of the Minister who had done 
so much to magnify the respect paid her. To Beaconsfield she 
owed, not only the empty title of "Empress of India," but a 
more real extension of the power of the Crown, since his Grov- 



858 In Opposition •. 

ernment had so frequently invoked the royal Prerogative. To 
the man who had opposed such measures, and successfully, she 
was not willing to accord the reward which the popular voice 
would have given him. The Liberals must certainly have the 
direction of affairs ; but Mr. Gladstone should not be at the head 
of the new Ministry. The post was offered to Lord Hartington, 
the chosen leader of the party and the chief figure in the Oppo- 
sition — whenever Mr. Gladstone was absent. But the noble Mar- 
quis declined the offer of the post, and assured Her Majesty that 
there was only one Liberal Premier possible. The Queen was 
obdurate, and persisted. Lord Granville, the leading Liberal in 
the House of Lords, was sent for; he attended Her Majesty, but 
declined, like his Commoner associate, to receive the command 
to form a Ministry ; there was but one man, he assured the 
Queen, who could fill that position. The case was a hopeless 
one. The Liberal party was indeed united in this hour of tri- 
umph. The Queen sent for Mr. Gladstone at last, and command- 
ed him to form a Cabinet. There was no hesitation this time. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

THE SECOND GLADSTONE MINISTRY,. 

Great Liberal Majority— Importance of the Irish Question— Mr. Bradlaugh in 
Parliament — Lord Randolph Churchill — Great Expectations from the 
Gladstone Ministry— Treaty of Berlin Concerning Montenegro— Claims 
of Greece— Trying to Adjust Domestic Taxes— Game Laws — Post-office 
Department — Illness of Mr. Gladstone — Irish Laud Law not Satisfactory 
— Peace Preservation Act — Irish Evictions — Home Rulers— Land League 
— Long Debate— Coercion Bills— Eloquent Speech of John Bright— Mem- 
orable Scene in the House of Commons — Ludicrous Incidents— Mr. Par- 
nell and Irish Legislation— Final Passage of the Irish Bill. 

'HE immense majority which had swept Mr. Gladstone into 
power did not remove the first difficulty which presented 
itself after his appointment as First Minister of the 
Crown. If he had had about six Cabinets to form, it might 
have been all very well; but having only one, there was con- 
siderable difficulty in deciding upon the rival claims of the many 
men who were thought to be entitled to positions in it. Of 
course Lord Hartington, who had been the leader of the Lib- 
eral party under peculiarly trying circumstances, being con- 
stantly overshadowed by Mr. Gladstone himself, who could not 
keep away from the House of Commons or political life in gen- 
eral, must be included in it; equally certain was it that Lord 
Granville must be offered a post of importance. Mr. Bright was 
likewise necessary; and, much to the dismay of the Whigs, the 
Radicals demanded recognition. Radicalism was indeed what 
had helped to swell the Liberal majority more than any other 
element except the party itself; Radicalism was too formidable 
an ally to be offended ; it would be better to let the Whigs growl. 
Mr. Chamberlain and Sir Charles Dilke were the most promin- 
ent men of this party, and they agreed that each would heartily 
support the other. The former was accordingly made Presi- 
dent of the Board of Trade, and the latter, for whom no seat in 
the Cabinet could be found, was made Under-Secretary for For- 
eign Affairs. 

Lord Granville being Foreign Secretary, Lord Hartington, 

359 



Tlie Second Gladstone Ministry. 361 

Secretary for India, and Mr. Bright, Chancellor of the Duchy of 
Lancaster, there was but one more office of importance to the 
after history of the Ministry. This was filled by Mr. Forster as 
Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant. 

The Irish Question was indeed one of importance. It was the 
prime cause of the late unexpected dissolution ; and Lord Bea- 
consfield had characterized the Home Kule movement as "scarce- 
ly less disastrous than pestilence and famine." Perhaps support 
of that movement was the legitimate outgrowth of that anti- 
imperialism which had brought the Liberals back to power; it 
became later the cause of division in the party which material- 
ly increased the strength of a Conservative Government, and de- 
layed still longer the justice for which Ireland had been crying 
out so long. The Irish vote, while it was not large enough in 
many constituencies to send a representative to Parliament, was 
yet often the casting vote between Liberals and Conservatives. 
In the election of 1880 their voice was wholly for the Liberals; 
not because they were Liberals, but because they were not To- 
ries. "Anything to beat Beaconsfield," was the motto under 
which they rallied ; if we may be permitted so to parody a cam- 
paign battle-cry of American politics. 

The places in the Cabinet having all been filled, there were 
some men omitted who must be placated ; and to these a title 
wasoffered. Amongthem, Mr. Lowe was the chief. Mr. Lowe was 
not reliable as a supporter of his chief; he was too incapable of 
sacrificing his own opinion or abandoning his own ideas ever to 
become a successful assistant to any minister; Mr. Gladstone 
had tried to get on with him, but was well assured by that ex- 
perience that it would be much easier to get on without him. 
Mr. Lowe accordingly disappeared from the House of Com- 
mons as Lord Sherbrooke took his seat in the House of Lords. 
But the bitter, brilliant speaker, a man of splendid gifts and 
wide and original ideas, as well as profoundly cultured, seemed 
to find the atmosphere of the Upper House anything but stimu- 
lating. He sank into a state which was almost apathy, as com- 
pared with the fieriness of Mr. Lowe, and he seldom addressed 
the Peers upon the subjects of debate. 

Among the most remarkable circumstances attending this 
change of Ministry, was the conversion of Lord Derby. This 
nobleman had, as we have already seen, held no mean post in 
the late Conservative Cabinet, which he had resigned when he saw 



362 



The Second Gladstone Ministry. 



that the course which the Foreign Minister was expected to pur* 
sue was one which he could not follow. He was openly compared 
to Titus Oates by a political ally and a near relative; but Lord 
Salisbury, in so resenting his change of political opinions, was 
apparently oblivious of the fact that his chief had begun life as 
a Radical of the most pronounced type. At any rate, the Earl 
of Derby now ranked himself as a Liberal Peer. 

There had been other changes than this. Mr. Bright, who had 
been regarded as a Radical of the Radicals, when he first came in- 



§yi3S>iw#l 




M-WM 



mmm 




Lord Granville. 
to political prominence, had paled into comparative conservatism 
beside the new apostles of that school, of whom Mr. Chamber- 
lain was the accepted representative. Sir Charles Dilke, who 
had openly announced himself as a Republican, and been stern- 
ly rebuked therefor by Mr. Gladstone, had now softened his be- 
lief so far as to accept a post in Mr. Gladstone's Ministry. 

Lord Selborne's political views, on the other hand, had been 
modified as gradually as Mr. Gladstone's own ; and even at this 
date, he did not admit that he was altogether a Liberal, but 



The Second Gladstone Ministry. 



303 



'styled himself a Liberal-Conservative. As Sir Koundell Palmer, 
he had opposed the action of the Ministry in the disestablish- 




Members of a New Parliament Signing the Roll. 

ment of the Irish Church ; but he had proved himself a sound 
lawyer and an honorable politician ; so that his appointment as 
Lord Chancellor and Keeper of the Great Seal was felt to be a 
real recognition of desert. 



364 The Second Gladstone Ministry. 

Great interest was awakened during this session concerning the 
admission of Mr. Charles Bradlaugh to the House of Commons. 
He was born near London in 1833, of very poor parents, and early 
gave promise of a remarkable career. Having become an atheist, 
and being widely known as a writer and speaker upon atheistical 
subjects, his next achievement was to obtain an election to Parlia- 
ment. On the 3d of May he presented himself at the table of the 
House of Commons, and said that he wished to be allowed to make 
affirmation, instead of taking the oath in the usual manner. His 
reason was well known to be his aversion to acknowledging the 
supremacy of the Christian religion, or, indeed, any religion at all, 
as he must do in taking an oath. 

The Speaker declined to take the responsibility of a decision, and 
left the mat Her to the judgment of the Honse. It was proposed to 
appoint a select committee to decide the question, and the motion 
was approved by the Opposition as well as by the Government. 
The Government, however, aroused the indignation of the House 
t)y proposing the names of several members who had recently taken 
office, and were therefore not in the strictest sense members of the 
House, since they were obliged to go before their constituents again. 
The ministry was accused of weakness in its desire to hurry matters, 
and the accusation was perhaps not undeserved. After a sharp 
debate, however, the Government carried its point, and the com- 
mittee was nominated. 

Mr. Bradlaugh had claimed the right to make an affirmation 
under the Parliamentary Oaths Act; but the committee decided, 
by the casting vote of the chairman, that Mr. Bradlaugh did not 
belong to the privileged classes of Moravians and Quakers, who 
were the persons for whose benefit this act had been passed. 

This was an unexpected difficulty for the Government, which 
had fully expected the decision to be favorable to Mr. Bradlaugh. 
The Opposition flattered itself that it had got rid of Mr. Bradlaugh, 
but now arose a new difficulty. Mr. Bradlaugh presented himself 
at the table of the House of Commons again and announced that 
he was ready to take the oath. 

A new committee was appointed, and this authority decided that 
Mr. Bradlaugh ought not to be permitted to take the oath, though 
it might be wise to let him affirm. Mr. Labouchere, his colleague 



I are 




5 



S 



^5 



"Si 



s 



865 



366 TJie Second Gladstone Ministry. 

in the representation of Northampton, offered a resolution declaring 
his right to make affirmation. This resolution was supported by 
the Prime Minister; but this measure, the first trial of strength 
between the Ministry and the Opposition, if a question which 
involved no part of the Government's policy could be so called 
resulted in a defeat to the Cabinet's cause. The resolution was lost by 
a vote of two hundred and seventy-five to two hundred and thirty. 

But Mr. Bradlaugh was not willing to accept defeat. On the 
following day he presented himself at the table to be sworn. The 
Speaker gravely informed him of the resolution of the House, and 
requested him to withdraw. He claimed the privilege of being 
heard at the bar of the House, and this he was not refused. His 
speech was an eloquent one, but it did not avail him. Advancing 
at its conclusion to the table, he again demanded that the oath be 
administered; the sergeant-at-arms touched him on the shoulder, 
and he again retired below the bar, but only to advance and plead, 
from the very floor of the House, for what he believed to be his 
right. The Speaker appealed to the House, and Mr. Bradlaugh 
was arrested in due form. 

He was not kept under restraint for a long time, however, but 
was released in the course of the week. Immediately upon his 
release, the Government introduced a resolution to the effect that 
any one claiming the privilege of making an affirmation should be 
allowed to do so, at his own risk of the statutory penalties provided 
in case of any one not duly qualified to sit and vote, attempting to 
do so. This resolution was carried, and under it Mr. Bradlaugh 
was finally allowed to take his seat. An action was immediately 
brought against him, however, to recover heavy penalties for having 
sat and voted without having previously taken the oath. As the 
penalty for each vote so cast was £500, the sum claimed rapidly 
grew to tremendous proportions. 

The Bradlaugh episode was a windfall to the Conservatives, dis- 
heartened as they had been by the severe losses in the late election. 
They saw that the immense Liberal majority was not a sure support 
of the Government ; that the party was not really as united as the 
leader would have had it. It was an unexpected source of strength ; 
if not of absolute power in debate, it was yet a powerful weapon 
with which to annoy the Ministry. 



The Second Gladstone Ministry. 



Mi 



There was yet another effect of the Bradlangh controversy. Out 
of it arose the Fourth Party, as it was called, derisively at first. 
In the House of Commons there was the son of a great Tory duke, 
to whom nobody had ever paid much attention. He had been 
listened to, of couise, but simply because he was the son of the 




Lord Randolph Churchill. 

Duke of Marlborough ; not for any interest which he had been 
able to excite by his speeches. This was a golden opportrnity, 
and he seized upon it. He was the bitter opponent of the atheistic 
claimant of a seat, and of the Government which supported that 
claim. 

All the members laughed at the young Lord Randolph Churchill, 
as they have laughed in other days at many who became famous in 
spite of the laughter; remembering Burke and Disraeli, Lord 



368 The Second Gladstone Ministry. 

Randolph paid no attention to the ridicule, and spoke when he 
pleased ; he also said what he pleased, regardless of the Conserva- 
tive traditions which were constantly being thrown at his head. 
He soon found adherents. In the days of the Adullamites, Mr. 
Bright had quoted authorities to prove that two men might con- 
stitute a party : Lord Randolph had a superabundance of followers, 
reckoned on that basis, for, including the leader, the Fourth Party 
soon numbered four members. These fated invigorators of the 
enervated Tory Party were Sir Henry Wolff, Mr. Gorst and Mr. 
Arthur Balfour. 

When the intentions of the new party were announced by its 
leaders, the gentlemen sitting on the Treasury benches were accus- 
tomed to smile in a good-natured sort of way, as indulgent elders 
smile at wayward children; the gentlemen on the opposite side of 
the House would reflect this smile; and perhaps it would often 
extend to the small Third Party, the Parnellites. But this was 
soon changed. They saw that the Conservative party, since Sir 
Stafford Northcote had succeeded Mr. Disraeli as its leader in the 
House of Commons, had lost "all of its passion and most of its 
vitality." Its chief characteristic, says a keen-sighted critic, ap- 
peared to be a " comprehensive amiability." But there was noth- 
ing amiable about the Fourth Party, politically considered. It 
was their business to annoy and obstruct the Government; and 
their perseverance and unflagging energy certainly entitled them 
to the success which they obtained. 

Passing now from the difficulties which encompassed the Gov- 
ernment in its foreign policy, we come to the domestic legislation. 
It was but a broken session, and there was not much accomplished 
in this direction. The supplementary budget was introduced by 
Mr. Gladstone early in June; the Premier holding the double 
office of First Lord of the Treasury and Chancellor of the Ex- 
chequer. It was proposed to reduce the tax on light foreign wines, 
to re-adjust the tax upon alcoholic liquors; to abolish the malt-tax, 
and substitute a duty upon beer; and to supply the deficiency 
which these changes would create by adding a penny to the 
income tax. 

This budget was accepted with slight modifications, though there 
was some dissatisfaction expressed that it said nothing about the 



The Second Gladstone Ministry. 



369 



Indian deficiency ; Mr. Gladstone stating in the speech with which 
he introduced the financial scheme of the Government, that he was 
not as yet prepared to make any statement on that subject. 

The old measure to permit the burial of Non -conformists in 
church yards with the rites of the sect to which their friends be- 
longed was again brought forward this session. It originated in 
the House of Lords and was finally carried. 




Sir William Vernon Harcourt. 
Other very important legislation was carried this session. 
Among this was an amendment to the iniquitous game laws. 
Hitherto no tenant farmer dared kill a hare or rabbit, no matter 
how his crops were damaged, and these pests were preserved for 
the landlords' sport, Harcourts' " Hare and Rabbit Bill/'' how- 
ever, gave the right to the tenant to kill in certain seasons, and 
made such right inalienable. There was also a measure for the 

remission of cumulative penalties for failure to vaccinate, but the 
24 



•J70 The Second Grindstone Ministry. 

Government was obliged to withdraw it, as it was bitterly opposed 
by many Liberals as well as Conservatives. The Government 
also brought forward a bill to regulate the responsibility of em- 
ployers with regard to accidents by which their workmen might 
be injured. Under the old law, an employer was not responsible 
unless the accident were proved to be the result of his direct personal 
negligence ; the bill thus introduced made his immediate delegate 
or person implied as such, his full representative. 

While this bill did not go far enough to please the advocates of 
the workingmen, it went too far to please the Lords, who desired 
to limit its operation to the term of two years. The Commons 
extended this to seven, when the bill came down again with the- 
amendment of the Peers, and the Upper Chamber accepted this 
compromise. 

This action was perhaps due to the fact that the workingman 
was represented in this Parliament as he had never been before. 
For the first time in English history, men who had supported 
themselves and their families by actual manual labor sat in the 
House of Commons, and took part in the councils of the nation. 
There had been theorists there, who had contended for the rights 
of the lower classes as something in which they took a kindly 
interest or which they advocated because, without any specia 
regard for the workingman individually, they saw that his welfare 
meant the welfare of all other classes ; but never before had one 
of themselves spoken for him. It was the direct result, the ultra 
Tories told each other, of that Reform Bill, which had been 
entirely too sweeping in its provisions; and the Tory advocates of 
the Reform Bill were forced to admit that it was. Of course the 
workingmen sat on the benches at the right of the Speaker, and 
that made it all the worse. 

Mr. Fawcett made a number of propositions in connection with 
the Post Office Department, over which he presided. With that 
same resolute determination which put aside his blindness as no 
insuperable bar to political prominence, he had mastered the details 
of his work, and had seen clearly what changes were needed. 
Perhaps the best tribute to the wisdom of the measures which he 
proposed is to be found in their speedy passage. They were recog- 
nized as things which the public demanded, and as valuable aids to 



The Second Gladstone Ministry. . 371 

increasing the prosperity of the people. The Post Office Savings 
Banks which Mr. Gladstone had advocated so strongly in 1861 had 
proved a great success ; and Mr. Fawcett secured the extension of 
their influence. He also passed a bill providing for the issuing of 
Postal Notes, similar to those which were subsequently introduced 
into use in this country. 

The proposal to erect a tablet in Westminster Abbey to the 
memory of the young Prince Imperial, who had been killed a 
year before in the Zulu war, excited intense opposition among 
those members who had been so bitterly opposed to Napoleon 
III., and the motion was not carried. A debate which was not 
of much interest otherwise, and of no more importance than 
this measure, was the nomination of M. Challemel Lacour as 
French embassador to England. Mr. O'Donnell having attacked 
the proposed representative of France for his actions during the 
Commune, Mr. Gladstone moved that Mr. O'Donnell be no longer 
heard. This was a revival of a custom which had not been in 
use for more than two centuries, and was adversely commented 
on at the time, as tending to recall the days of the first Stuarts. 

In the latter part of July Mr. Gladstone fell ill. His disease 
proved to be but a slight fever; but for a few days there was 
intense anxiety regarding him. Visitors thronged the door of 
the house in Downing: Street, am one: whom Lord Beaconsfield 
was a conspicuous figure. His medical advisers forbidding him to 
return to political life for a time, upon his partial recovery he 
accepted the use of Sir Donald Currie's vessel, "Grantully Cas- 
tle," and did not return to Parliament until Sept. 4th. His place 
in the House of Commons as leader of the Government, was of 
course filled by Lord Harrington, who plodded along with that 
sturdy determination which has always been characteristic of 
his political life. 

The Indian Budget was brought before the House during Mr. 
Gladstone's absence. There was, as had been supposed, an enor- 
mous deficit. Lord Harrington declined to make any definite 
statement as to how this was to be met until the exact amount 
was known ; but it was proposed to supply the deficiency tern.-* 
porarily by means of loans. 

In connection with the session of 1880, there remains one sub» 

\ .-,-.., 



372 



The Second Gladstone Ministry. 



ject to be noticed; a subject which was brought up first in the 
Queen's speech, and which at the close of the session was left in 




Lord Hariington. 

pretty much the same state as it was at the beginning. This was 
nothing else than the Irish Question. If the spirit of all the men 
who ever sat iu the House of Commous could be assembled in 



The Second Gladstone Ministry. 373 

ghostly conclave, they would, from sheer force of habit, fall to 
discussing the Irish question ; it is the only topic which could 
interest all, from the days of Kiug John to the days of Queen 
Victoria; other wrongs have been redressed, other rights have 
been asserted and maintained ; the rights and wrongs of Ireland, 
and Ireland alone, are the unfailing source of the waters of strife. 

The first Gladstone Ministry had passed two measures which 
were intended to give the long-delayed justice to the unfortunate 
sister-island, and had fallen on the attempt to pass a third. But 
the Land Law then passed was far from being satisfactory. What 
were known as the Bright clauses, intended to make the pur- 
chase of land by the tenant possible, were found especially im- 
practicable. By the law disestablishing the Irish Church it was 
arranged that the church tenants who wished to buy their hold- 
ings outright should be allowed to do so, certain very easy terms 
being arranged. 

Mr. Bright endeavored to incorporate something of the same 
kind in the general Land Law ; but the land was so encumbered 
with tithe-charges, and quit-rents, and drainage charges, that there 
was a constant wrangle between the original holders and the pur- 
chasers. Besides this, the necessity for a strict investigation of the 
title, and other expenses of the transfer, sometimes amounted to as 
much as thirty per cent, of the whole value ; for the law required 
the title to be a Landed Estates Court document, which is abso- 
lutely binding, no matter what claims may be made after the con- 
veyance. The Government had aimed to establish a class of peasant 
proprietors ; but the scheme was an impracticable one. 

There was really but one thing accomplished by this act, and 
that was the establishment of the Ulster system of tenant-right, 
as far as a custom varying on each estate could be reduced to a 
general system. That was but one of the things at which the Gov- 
ernment aimed. Something at which they did not aim, but which 
the law did, nevertheless, was the fresh impetus which was thus 
given to the Land Question. The Irish began to feel that this 
was not all that would be done ; that there really was some hope 
of a better time coming. 

The Queen's speech at the opening of the session made one 
most important announcement with regard to Irish affairs. The 



874 The Second Gladstone Ministry. 

Peace Preservation Act would not be renewed. This meant that 
the ordinary law would be allowed to take its course, and the 
Government would try to rule Ireland without resorting to coer- 
cion. Another important point was the promise that the borough 
franchise of Ireland should be extended. Notable as these prom- 
ises were, the Irish leaders were scarcely satisfied, however; there 
should be something done to stay evictions, they thought, since 
these had increased in an alarming ratio of late years. 

The Irish members made a gallant attempt to perform the 
duty for which they had been elected, in preparing a bill for the 
purpose of staying evictions. This the government refused to 
accept ; but proposed in place of it a Compensation for Disturb- 
ance bill, which adopted some of their suggestions. In cases 
where a non-payment of rent was due to insolvency caused by a 
failure of crops, the county court judges were authorized to allow 
compensation. Mr. Forster explained to the House that this 
was simply an extension of the act of 1870, and denied that it 
was a concession to the anti-rent agitation. At the same time he 
admitted that since 1877 the annual rate at which evictions had 
increased was nearly double that of previous years. 

The bill passed the House of Commons after a protracted de- 
bate, and went up to the Lords. But the Peers did not see as the 
Commons did, and rejected it by an immense majority. The vio- 
lence with which many evictions had been resisted, and the out- 
rages which had been perpetuated in revenge for the wrongs in- 
flicted, in the eyes of the peasants, by the landlord class, were an 
insuperable bar to any favorable consideration of the claims of 
the Irish. Perhaps, had this measure passed the Lords, there 
would have been less agitation in Ireland since that time ; but 
after the lapse of a decade the same state of affairs obtained. 

The Irish members pleaded vainly with the Government for 
some resistance of this fiat of the Peers. The most that the Min- 
istry would do was to promise a comprehensive measure next 
session with a committee, for the present, to inquire into the agri- 
cultural condition of the country. Perhaps the Ministers, in the 
absence of their chief, hesitated to take any decided action ; and 
certainly such action, taken by Hartington, would have had much 
less weight than if Gladstone had insisted upon it. 



Tlie Second Gladstone Ministry. 



375 



The Home Rulers were of course bitterly opposed to this 
quiescence, and did not hesitate to say so, in many speeches which 
the Government considered inflammatory ; and this judgment was 
perhaps not without foundation. The Ministry had made the 
mistake of not consulting a single Irish member in connection with 






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ipwffi 

■*-■■■■■'. ■■:■■'■■ v .■ m 



m 



m mm 






Wmm 

lliir 







Hon. Edward Forster. 
its Irish policy ; incredible as it may seem, not even those moder- 
ate members, who, under the leadership of Mr. Shaw, sat and 
voted with the Liberals, were treated as political friends and allies 
in this respect. 

Among the speeches outside of Parliament which thus aroused 



376 The Second Gladstone Ministry. 

the ire of the Government was one delivered by Mr. Dillon, in 
which he called upon the young farmers of Ireland to defend those 
who were threatened with eviction. The attention of the Irish 
Secretary having been called to this speech, he denounced it as 
wicked and cowardly. Mr. Dillon replied ; Mr. Forster retorted. 
Then came one debate after another, upon Irish topics; during one 
of these discussions, the Secretary took occasion to defend the Irish 
constabulary for the use of buck-shot as ammunition, and thus built 
himself an everlasting name, as " Buckshot Forster." 

Parliament was prorogued September 7th, nothing of import- 
ance having been done toward the settlement of this vexed ques- 
tion. But the Land Leaguers were not silenced. The tenants were 
advised to form a sort of protective union, for the purpose of oppos- 
ing a passive resistance to evictions, and also to the exaction of an 
unjust amount of rent over the valuation authorized by the Par- 
liament of 1824, and finally made in 1852. 

The leaders of the Land League were anxious to avoid all vio- 
lation of the law; and hence a strictly legal mode of freezing 
out the obnoxious landlords and agents was resorted to. This 
was called, from the name of the first victim, " Boycotting ; " and 
was an ingenious means of evading the letter of the law, worthy 
of an Irishman's quick wit. 

Still there were outrages, though the Land League claimed that 
it did all in its power to prevent them. " While we abuse coer- 
cion, we must not be guilty of coercion," was the principle which 
Davitt and his associates constantly enunciated ; but there was 
much for which the Government held them responsible ; and the 
trouble culminated in a State prosecution of fifteen prominent 
members of the society, among whom Messrs. Parnell, Dillon, 
Sexton, Sullivan and Biggar, all members of Parliament, were 
of course included. The charge was seditious conspiracy, but the 
jury was unable to agree, and the trial came to nothing. 

At the end of the session of 1880, Mr. Forster had said that the 
Government would introduce an Irish Land Bill and a Coercion 
Bill the next session. He intimated that coercion would precede 
legislation on the land question. The Irish members were hardly 
surprised then, when at the opening of the session of 1881, the 
Queen's speech declared that the multiplication of agrarian crimes, 



Tlie Second Gladstone Ministry, 377 

aud the insecurity of life and property in Ireland demanded coer- 
cive measures. On the other hand it was admitted that the con- 
dition of Ireland called for an extension of the Land Act of 1870. 

Monday, January 24th, Mr. Forster introduced his first coer- 
cion measure. Liberals and Conservatives alike looked at his 
statistics of outrages perpetrated in Ireland with horror, until Mr. 
Labouchere showed that in most cases one outrage was made to 
stand for several, by multiplying it by the number of men con- 
cerned with it. This somewhat weakened the force of the argu- 
ment based on the statistics, but Mr. Forster did not look upon it 
in that light. The bill gave the Lord Lieutenant the power of 
arresting any one who was suspected of treasonable practices, and 
the commission of crimes of intimidation, or incitement thereto. 
It was an ex-post facto law, as it did not limit the arrest to those 
who had offended after the passage of the bill. 

On the day after the introduction of this bill, Mr. Gladstone 
moved to declare urgency for the coercion bills, and thus give 
them precedence over all other business. Then ensued a series 
of sittings without precedent in the history of Parliament. The 
first sitting of the House at which this was the business of the 
hour was prolonged, not only all night, but until two o'clock the 
next afternoon. The debate was resumed on Thursday, with a 
speech from Mr. Bright. The Radical of the old school had long 
been regarded as a friend to Home Rule, aud it had been confi- 
dently asserted that the silence which he had hitherto preserved 
upon this all-absorbing topic was due to his disapproval of the 
course which his colleagues were pursuing. But if this opinion 
really obtained, it was most effectually dissipated by this speech. 
The Land League had been compared to the anti-Corn Law 
League, and the impression that Mr. Bright was a devoted friend 
of the Irish was perhaps due in no small degree to this compari- 
son. But now he angrily denied the parallel, and with more than 
his usual vehemence literally flung himself upon the Irish party. 
The Irish national press was exasperated to find Mr. Bright thus 
decisively arrayed upon the side of their enemies ; he was the last 
link that had bound the extreme Irish party to the Government ; 
and now that had been snapped. 

But Mr. Bright's speech, eloquent as it was in its fierce denun- 



578 The Second Gladstone Ministry. 

ciations of the Land Leaguers, was completely overshadowed by 
one from Mr. Gladstone the next day, upon the same subject. 
His speech was a justification of coercion in the disorganized con- 
dition of Ireland, and a bitter denunciation of many of the speeches 
which had been made by Mr. Parnell and Mr. Biggar. The fierce- 
ness of his attack had had no precedent since the time when he 
had defended the monarchy against the republicanism of Sir 
Charles Dilke. 

" Passion is the spell which most surely unlocks Mr. Gladstone's 
skill as an orator of attack. The fury of his indignation swept 
over the House and stirred it to its depths, arousing tumultuous 
enthusiasm in the majority of his hearers, and angry protest from 
the minority he was assailing. The pale, unmoved face of Mr. 
Parnell occasionally showed through the storm as he rose to cor- 
rect the Prime Minister in his quotations from his speeches, and 
was howled and shouted, if not into silence, at least into being 
inaudible." 

Such is the description of an eye-witness, who was certainly not 
unfavorable to Parnell. But the House was not to be swept along 
on this tide of fiery eloquence. There were breakers ahead, in the 
obstruction policy of the Irish members ; the members of the Gov- 
ernment sat in their places; some doggedly defiant of these efforts, 
some appearing to be extremely depressed because the measure was 
not carried through with a rush. Entirely different was the atti- 
tude of the Opposition during this prolonged sitting; what was 
death to the frogs in the fable was fun for the boys ; and the 
members of that party whose Irish policy had been so severely 
condemned by the party in power, and who were promised that 
they should see how speedily the Irish difficulties would be settled 
by the Liberals, enjoyed themselves immensely during this exciting 
debate. 

Finally the Speaker proceeded to put the main question. An 
Irish member rose; the Speaker refused to hear him. Then there 
arose a cry which had not been heard in the House of Commons 
since 1642, when Charles I. suddenly appeared in its sacred pre- 
cincts and demanded that the members whom he accused of high 
treason should be delivered up to him. " Privilege, Privilege !" 
shouted the whole Irish party, leaping to their feet as one man. 



The Second Gfladstone Ministry. 37 b 

Then, bowing to the Chair, they marched out of the House in the 
same unbroken phalanx. 

Thus ended a scene without parallel in Parliamentary history. 
The long sitting was the first actual triumph of obstruction, which 
had often delayed business, but which had never before revolu- 
tionized parliamentary law and precedent. The occasion was full 
of weird interest, and was chiefly remarkable for the daring audacity 
of the principal actors in it. 

Again and again did the Irish patriots move that the House 
adjourn, that progress be reported, that the Speaker leave the chair, 
and a variety of similar motions. Again and again did the sonorous 
voice of Mr. Biggar break the stillness of the air with his peculiarly 
pronounced " Misthur Spaker, Sur-r-r." Under cover of motions 
to adjourn, the whole question was re-opened, until, on the morn- 
ing of the secoud day, it was discovered that one of the solid gang 
had not addressed himself to the bill itself. Up rose this zealous 
patriot, and when it was found he insisted on reading the measure, 
clause by clause, a groan escaped from a score of lips. 

When the lights were put out at daybreak on Tuesday, the ap- 
pearance of the House was miserable. The usual sweeping and 
cleaning had been impossible, and the floor was strewn with 
rubbish of all kinds, torn newspapers, and even pieces of orange 
peel abounding in every direction. Then the Liberals commenced 
going home to sleep in sections, and every few hours a score or 
two members would appear clothed and in their right minds, to 
replace an equal number of dirty and sleepy legislators, who ir 
turn went home to recuperate. 

For the nonce all party feeling was forgotten, and the Opposi- 
tion loyally supported the Government in its attempt to silence 
Irish protests and Irish demands for justice. Sir Stafford North- 
cote personally appealed to Mr. Gladstone to go home and sleep, 
pledging himself to remain in his absence and 4l keep a House." 

Of ludicrous incidents there were several. It is " strictly out of 
order " for members or strangers to bring refreshments on to the 
floor of the House. This rule did not hurt the English and Scotch 
members, who could easily get away to eat; but it was not so with 
the Irish, who ate sandwiches and drank out of flasks to their 
heart's content. Among the lunch eaters was an Irish obstruc- 



380 The Second Gladstone Ministry. 

tionist whose reputation as a drinker of whiskey exceeded his elo- 
quence. Mr. Wharton called the Speaker's attention to the fact 
that this gentleman was eating and drinking, whereupon the wine- 
bibber proceeded to stand up and empty his flask in face of the 
Speaker's studied rebuke. 

The bill was immediately brought in, and the first reading car- 
ried. The House adjourned till noon of the same day, this single 
sitting having lasted about forty-one hours, and being the longest 
then on record. The Irish members thought better of it when the 
time came for re-assembling, and were promptly on hand to criti- 
cise the action of the Speaker in thus bringing the debate to a close 
upon his own motion. 

The Speaker ruled that it was not a question of privilege ; 
whereupon an Irish member moved the adjournment of the House, 
and the debate on that question was kept up until nearly six 
o'clock, when, upon division, it was found that but forty-four 
members out of more than three hundred were in favor of it. As 
it was six o'clock by the time that the result of the division was 
announced, and the day was Wednesday, the House was obliged, 
by its own rules, to adjourn. 

The Irish were resisting with all their might. They could only 
hope to weary out the Government, and thus obtain some conces- 
sions. If the ministry would not pass a law for the relief of Ire- 
land, they should not pass one for her oppression. So they rea- 
soned ; and the members who sat on the right hand of the Speaker 
were doubtful as to the result, until their chief found a way out of 
the difficulty. The obstruction policy of the very small Irish party 
must be the excuse for the revival of rules which had been allowed 
to sink into oblivion. The Irish had brought the cry of " Privi- 
lege" from the echoing chambers of the past; and they were 
silenced with thunders from the same stormy region. 

When question time came on Thursday, Mr. Parnell suddenly 
asked if it were true that Mr. Davitt had been arrested. The 
Home Secretary answered that he had ; whereupon the wildest 
cheering ensued ; when the noise subsided, Sir William Harcourt 
went on to state that the Irish Secretary and he, after due consulta- 
tion with their colleagues and the legal advisers of the Govern- 
ment, had decided that Mr. Davitt had violated the conditions of 



The Second Gladstone Ministry. 381 

his ticket-of-leave. Mr. Parnell tried to ascertain what conditions 
had been broken, but the Speaker decided that Mr. Gladstone, who 
was waiting with his Urgency Motion, had the floor. Mr. Dillon 
arose to a point of order, but was not allowed to state it. 

Amid much noise from all parts of the House, the Speaker 
declared that Mr. Gladstone was entitled to be heard. Mr. Dillon 
did not sit down when the Speaker rose, but remained defiantly 
standing facing him ; he demanded his privilege of speech. In 
the noise which ensued there were few or no members silent. The 
Irish members shouted vociferously, " Point of Order !" The 
other members, with more volume of voice, but with no more 
vehemence, demanded that Mr. Dillon should be named by the 
Speaker. This last demand was the one with which the Speaker 
complied, the offense which was thus punished being Mr. Dillon's 
defiance of the rules by remaining on his feet after the Speaker had 
risen. In view of the somewhat frequent use of this means of dis- 
cipline of late years, we may here remark that the last member 
" named," prior to Mr. Dillon on this occasion, was Fergus O'Con- 
nor, who, in the heat of debate, had struck the member sitting 
beside him in 1848. 

Mr. Dillon was silenced for the time ; and the Prime Minister 
at once moved that he be suspended from the service of the House 
for the remainder of the sitting. This was carried by an immense 
majority, and the speaker called upon Mr. Dillon to withdraw. 
He began to speak, but there was such confusion that nothing 
could be distinguished ; finally, the Sergeant-at-Arms approached 
him, accompanied by several attendants, and Mr. Dillon left the 
House. 

After the excitement had somewhat lessened, Mr. Gladstone 
made another effort to go on with his speech, but was interrupted 
by several Irish members, chief among whom was Mr. Parnell, 
who moved that Mr. Gladstone be no longer heard. The Speaker 
declined to recognize the member for Cork ; the member from 
Cork declined in effect to recognize the Speaker, since he refused 
to sit down. This was the very offense for which Mr. Dillon had 
just been expelled, and a similar fate awaited Mr. Parnell. Thirty- 
three members had voted against the expulsion of Mr. Dillon ; 
there were but seven in the minority when Mr. Gladstone proposed 



382 The Second Gladstone Ministry. 

a similar course with regard to Mr. Parnell. The Irish members 
remained in their seats, refusing to vote when the division was 
called for. 

It was not without reason that they complained of the treatment 
which they had received. This was indeed an antiquated mode of 
procedure, to demand that a Speaker be no longer heard ; but Mr. 
Parnell would hardly have made use of it had not the Prime 
Minister himself done so in the first place. It was simply a turn- 
ing of his own weapon against him, though the majority decided 
that the Premier might use arms which were not permitted to 
others. 

Mr. Gladstone, who was literally speaking under difficulties, was 
again interrupted by an Irish member, Mr. Finigan, and there was 
a repetition of the little comedy which had been twice before per- 
formed before the House. There were twenty-eight members of 
the Irish party remaining, and the Speaker having called the 
attention of the House to their refusal to vote, named them one 
after another. Mr. Gladstone moved their expulsion in a body ; 
it was carried with but six dissenting voices. 

Then ensued a scene which was ludicrous in its monotony. Each 
member as he was named, rose and made a speech protesting against 
the action of the Government, and declining to obey the order to 
leave unless compelled to do so ; the sergeant at arms "would 
solemnly approach him with his attendants at his heels; touch 
him on the shoulder without saying a word. In most cases the 
member obeyed this mute summons; but in some cases they refused 
to do so until a sufficient number of attendants had been brought 
to show that resistance was absolutely hopeless. 

Mr. Gladstone again rose and tried to go on with his motion, 
but it was not to be as yet. Some of the Irish party who had not 
\>een in the House while this was taking place now returned, and 
tried the same tactics. It was necessary to suspend six of these 
before he was at last permitted to proceed. 

Steps were at once taken to amend the rules of the House in 
such manner that the obstruction policy could not be used to such 
an advantage. A fall upon the ice having confined Mr. Gladstone 
to his house for a few days, the final passage of the bill took place 
in his absence, February 27th^ Lord Harrington moved that the 




Inquiring Concerning Mr. Gladstone's Injuries. 



383 



384 The Second Gladstone Ministry. 

debate on the bill, which was at that time in committee, and about 
to be reported, should end at seven the next day. Any amend- 
ments which were unreported upon at that time were to be denied 
consideration. This motion, which did not admit of being dis- 
cussed, was carried, and the Speaker promptly cut the debate short 
at the hour named. The Coercion Bill was carried with but thirty- 
six negatives in the Commons, and passing rapidly through all its 
stages in the House of Lords, became a law March 2d. 

The long promised Land Bill was introduced April 7th. It was 
supposed to be based upon the reports of two Commissions which 
had been appointed, one by the late and one by the existing Gov- 
ernment, for the purpose of investigating the land question in Ire- 
land. The number of reports presented by these two Commissions 
seems to have been limited only by the number of gentlemen who 
had been appointed to investigate the subject ; but with one excep- 
tion they agreed that there ought to be a court which should decide 
between landlord and tenant when they differed with regard to rent. 

Fair rent, Fixity of Tenure, and Free Sale — the three F's, as 
they were called — were the main objects of the Bill; and the 
vexed question of peasant proprietary was not omitted. It was 
a moderate measure; and if it should prove practicable, the Gov- 
ernment hoped that the condition of the Irish would be greatly 
ameliorated by its action. 

It was bitterly opposed by the Conservatives, who characterized 
it as communistic, revolutionary, socialistic, and by any other 
epithets that appeared sufficiently condemnatory. The Irish mem- 
bers, perhaps, were astonished at the introduction of such a measure 
by the Government ; but although it was more than they had 
hoped for, it was less than they wished. They set themselves to 
work to widen its scope, and in this they were fairly successful. 
It was not finally presented to the House until the end of July, 
when it passed the third reading. 

The Bill was then sent up to the Lords. If the Irish members 
had done their best to obstruct the Coercion Bill, the Lords were 
equally unreasonable with regard to the Land Bill. It was 
amended so that it was hardly recognizable, and the Peers, flat- 
tering themselves that they had done great things, passed it in its 
altered form, and it went again to the Commons. 



The Second Gladstone Ministry. 385 

The Commons declined to accept the changes, and sent it back 
to the Lords. The Lords made new amendments, and sent it down 
to the Commons again. The ministry made some minor conces- 
sions, but declined once more to accept those sweeping changes on 
which the Peers had insisted. At last the Lords, after all their 
bluster, yielded some points, and the Land Bill of 1881 became law. 

In the meantime Mr. Bradlaugh's seat had been formally de- 
clared vacant, and a writ for a new election issued. He was again 
elected, and the old trouble began afresh. The Government held 
to the opinion that the House could not interfere when a duly 
elected member presented himself to take the oath, as Mr. Brad- 
laugh now did ; and the Opposition having carried a resolution 
affirming that Mr. Bradlaugh should not be permitted to repeat 
the oath, which he regarded as a mere, meaningless, empty cere- 
mony, Mr. Gladstone informed them, in answer to their inquiries, 
that it was their business to carry out that resolution, against which 
he had voted. 

The government promised to deal with the question in the usual 
way, and the Parliamentary Oaths Bill was brought in ; but it 
was finally decided that it would be impossible to proceed with it, 
and the matter was allowed to lie over until the next session. The 
disturbance excited by Mr. Bradlaugh's persistency in urging his 
claims to a seat therefore continued until nearly the time for pro- 
rogation. 

Cobden, speaking to a friend of Disraeli and his brilliant career, 
had asked, " How will it be with him when all is retrospect?" 
That solemn question, like an echo of the archangel's blast, now 
was brought to the minds of men. On the 19th of April, 1881, 
all became restrospect with the great Tory statesman. The long, 
long rivalry was ended, and Mr. Gladstone was left without a peer 
in the ranks of living Englishmen. 

After the passage of a number of measures of special im- 
portance only in a local or temporary sense, the stormy session 
came to a close. Up to its end the Government had not shown 
any special animosity to the Irish members, and seemed disposed 
to treat the Land Leaguers in general with more lenity than ever. 
This was evidenced by the release of Father Sheehy, who had been 
imprisoned as an agitator. But the advocates of Irish freedom 
25 



386 The Second Gladstone Ministry. 

from British rule continued their self-appointed task, and the 
patience of the Ministry was finally worn out. Mr. Gladstone 
spoke at Leeds on the 7th of October, in reply to an address from 
the Mayor and Town Council. His speech touched upon the all- 
absorbing Irish Question; and as he warmed to the work, he 
spoke of Mr. Parnell iu such terms that he was accused of a bitter, 
personal attack. The extreme views of the Parnellites were com- 
pared unfavorably with those of the men of the 1848 school, and 
even with those of the moderate men of to-day, like Mr. Dillon. 
Mr. Parnell promptly replied to these strictures, and Mr. Dillon 
refused to accept Mr. Gladstone's compliment. One speech fol- 
lowed another from the lips of the incensed Irishmen, and the 
Government finally issued warrants for the arrest of the prominent 
Land Leaguers. 

This was announced by the Prime Minister in a most dramati- 
cally effective manner. In the midst of an address to a crowded 
assembly at Guildhall, he made an eloquent plea for the preserva- 
tion of law and order. Suddenly he produced a telegram, an- 
nouncing that the Land League leaders had been arrested and 
conveyed to jail. The effect was marvellous. Friends and foes 
strove to outdo each other in their wild applause. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

THE SECOND GLADSTONE MINISTRY. 

(Continued.) 

Mr. Bradlaugh Once More — Home Rule — The Lords and the Land Act — Amend- 
ment of the Rules — Arrears Bill — Concessions to the Irish — Phoenix Park 
Murders -Crimes Bill — Obstruction — Friends Failing — The Egyptian 
Question — Bombardment of Alexandria — Autumn Session — Forster's At- 
tack on Gladstone — The Reply — Explosives Bill — And Still, Mr. Brad- 
laugh — Minor Legislation — The Soudan Difficulties — Irrepressible Mr. 
Bradlaugh — The Egyptian Trouble Continues — The Afghan Boundary — 
Failure of the Soudan War — The Budget -A Sleepy Time— Waking Up— 
A Remai kable Speech — A Great Surprise — Fall of the Ministry. 

ARLIAMENT opened February 7, 1882. The chief topic 
of discussion, always excepting the omnipresent Irish Ques- 
tion, was the amendment of the rules. This had been in- 
trusted to a committee the year before, and was expected to come 
up before the House very early in the session. The subject was of 
special interest, because, upon the passage of a rule which would 
render obstruction more difficult, the Irish Question could be more 
speedily discussed, if not more easily settled; and the reforms in 
this direction had gone just far enough to make the oppressed more 
eagerly desirous of aid. 

But the first question which came before the House was the 
Bradlaugh difficulty. Mr. Bradlaugh had been excluded from the 
House the year before by a sessional order, which, of course, re- 
mained in force only until the prorogation. On the demand of his 
rights, Mr. Gladstone expressed the opinion that the courts of law 
were the only authority competent to deal with the question ; but 
the matter was otherwise decided by the House of Commons, and 
Mr. Bradlaugh was once more directed to withdraw. Mr. Labou- 
chere having moved for a new writ for Northampton, the motion 
was negatived by a large majority. 

Thereupon Mr. Bradlaugh, advancing from the seat which he 
had been occupying, and which was not in the technical limits of 
the House, drew a New Testament from his coat-pocket and gravely 

387 



388 The Second Gladstone Ministry. 

proceeded to swear himself in as a Member of Parliament. This 
done, he produced a paper statiug that he had duly taken the oath, 
signed it and laid it upon the table. The House was literally 
struck dumb by this performance, and only began to recover itself 
as Mr. Bradlaugh concluded the extraordinary ceremony. 

Then there was " confusion worse confounded." Lord Randolph 
Churchill led the argument, and when that has been said the 
aggressive nature of it may be inferred. But the law-officers of 
the Crown could not decide that Mr. Bradlaugh had redly violated 
any statute, and Mr. Gladstone succeeded in postponing the con- 
sideration of the question until the next day. 

The wrangle thus delayed ended in the expulsion of Mr. Brad- 
laugh, the issuing of a new writ, and the re-election of Mr. Brad- 
laugh. This had come to be quite the recognized order of things ; 
but there was a slight change in what followed. Mr. Labouchere 
having proposed that Mr. Bradlaugh should be heard in his own 
behalf, instead of addressing the Commons from below the bar, as 
usual, that gentleman boldly advanced to the sacred precincts of 
the House itself, and, taking a seat below the gangway, proceeded 
to argue the point with the Speaker as a member of the House of 
Commons. He was expelled by a vote of 297 to 80 ; a new writ 
was immediately granted, and Mr. Bradlaugh was again re-elected. 

A resolution of Sir Stafford Northcote, carried by a majority of 
fifteen, affirmed the sessional resolution, and forbade him to take 
the oath. The strife extended to the House of Lords, where there 
was a bill brought in to exclude all atheists from Parliament, suc- 
ceeded, when it was lost, by an Affirmation Bill, which shared the 
same fate. The Government arrived at an understanding with 
Mr. Bradlaugh, by which he was to be permitted to occupy a seat 
on one of the benches, on condition that he did not join in the 
debates, and did nothing to disturb the House. 

The Irish Question had been broached during the debate upon 
the Address, but had not been discussed in any other form. But 
this debate is not without interest, since it disproves the assertions 
which have sometimes been made, that the alliance of Mr. Glad- 
stone with Mr. Parnell was merely a device to regain power by the 
aid of the Irish vote. If, in the height of his career as Prime 
Minister for the second time, he began to advocate Home Rule, it 



:,i - '.' *'.' }-::i! (If,; """ ^ '. ■''■' ' :i! ; fe 

' If 














Mr. and Mrs. Gladstone in 1883. 



389 



390 The Second Gladstone Ministry. 

is clear that it could not have been a sudden change, made for any 
sinister motive. 

It was quite characteristic of the man, whose whole political life 
was signalized by gradual growth from extreme Toryism to extreme 
Liberal views. Had it been possible for Gladstone to have lived 
ten years longer, in the full possession of his mental and physical 
powers, it is not improbable that he would have come to uphold 
those very principles which he had so severely condemned when 
answering Sir Charles Dilke's speech on Republicanism. The 
change would have been no greater than others which took place 
in his life. 

Mr. P. J. Smyth had moved an amendment supporting a restora- 
tion of the Irish Parliament, but this had been lost after he offered 
to withdraw it. Mr. Gladstone had spoken upon the subject, and, 
in a later stage of the controversy, he was called to account for this 
speech. The Irish members themselves demanded the explanation, 
some passages seeming to indicate that he was not averse to Home 
Rule. Mr. Gladstone replied that he had always considered that a 
demand for the local government of Ireland was not too dangerous 
to be considered, as it was rated by the Conservatives ; but up to 
this time no case, which combined a proper formulation of the 
Irish claims with a due regard for the supremacy of the British 
Crown, had ever been submitted to the Government. 

Such cautious admissions meant that the time would come when 
Gladstone would advocate Home Rule. The utterances were not 
so interpreted at the time, for the party most interested scarcely 
dared to trust such hopes, and the Irish Question was considered 
of less importance for the present until the working of the new 
Land Act should be tried, than it had been the previous session. 

But to give the new Land Act a fair trial was just what the 
Tories did not intend to do. It was agitated anew in the quarter 
whence trouble was least expected — the House of Lords. Many 
of the peers regretted bitterly that the Land Act had been forced 
upon them, and they embraced the first opportunity to protest. 
The Ministry was now embarrassed by the Bradlaugh difficulty. 
Their action was unpopular with the great majority of people, who 
looked upon atheistical tendencies with horror. 

The landlord party in the House of Lords attacked Mr. Glad- 



The Second Gladstone Ministry. 391 

stone fiercely because of his utterances upon Home Rule, and dwelt 
with malicious emphasis upon a pamphlet which had recently been 
reprinted by its author, who had been appointed Secretary to the 
Irish Land Commission. This pamphlet defended peasant pro- 
prietorship, and spoke of the " cause for which Parnell and Dillon 
and Davitt had labored and suffered." Although the writer re- 
signed his office as soon as the pamphlet became the subject of 
unfavorable comment, this did not serve to excuse the Government. 
A motion for a select committee to inquire into the workings of the 
Land Act was made and carried by a majority of more than forty 
of the Lords, and in spite of the attitude of the Commons, the com- 
mittee was appointed. 

It must have delighted the soul of Sir Charles Dilke and his co- 
republicans when the vote concerning Prince Leopold's allowance, 
in view of his approaching marriage, was announced ; for the pro- 
position to increase it from £10,000 to £25,000 was carried against 
the largest minority that ever opposed a grant to a royal prince. 

It was the general opinion among Englishmen that Protection 
had been dead and buried long ago, but during this session there 
was an effort made to revive it, under the name of fair trade. The 
motion for a committee, in the interests of fair trade, to consider 
the operations of foreign tariffs upon British commerce, was nega- 
tived by a vote of 140 to 89. 

All this time Mr. Parnell was in prison. It is true that at some 
time during the month of April he was released on parole, to 
attend the funeral of a relative, but he was not free to occupy his 
seat in Parliament. He occupied his time in drafting a bill to 
meet the difficulty of the arrears of rent, which weighed down the 
tenant farmers. This Irish Arrears Bill was kindly received by 
Mr. Gladstone, as an evidence that the Irish members would do 
their best to make the Land Law of 1881 effective. But this 
attitude of the head of the Government was not a little puzzling to 
observers. Would the Ministry accept a measure proposed by a 
man whom they had imprisoned for his course in this very matter ? 
The thing was so glaringly inconsistent that it was speedily 
rumored that the Irish policy would immediately be changed. 

The prisoners had been privately offered their liberty if they 
would leave the country, if for ever so short a time; they might 



392 The Second Gladstone Ministry. 

only cross the Channel and return at once ; but to this they would 
not agree; they had been imprisoned unjustly, as they considered, 
and they would make no compromise to secure their release. 

Mr. Gladstone's significant words to which we have before 
alluded seem to have been prompted by a kindly feeling for Ire- 
land; he was already progressing toward his later attitude. And 
here we may add a word regarding this change in opinion. The 
subject of Irish affairs is one on which the densest ignorance pre- 
vails in England, or did prevail until the time of which we write. 
Mr. Gladstone was no exception to the rule ; he has told us himself 
that he did not understand the case until the beginning of his 
second administration, when he set to work to study it more 
thoroughly than ever before. He had been devoting himself 
mainly to this subject, and the more he studied it, the more he was 
convinced that Ireland was the victim of tyranny. 

Finally, on May 1st, Lord Salisbury addressed a string of ques- 
tions to Lord Granville, who was the head of the Government in 
the House of Lords. In answer to these, Lord Granville announced 
that Earl Cowper had resigned the Lord-Lieutenancy of Ireland 
some weeks ago, but had left it with the Premier to say when it 
should take effect ; that it had been accepted, and Lord Spencer 
appointed in his stead. The Government had decided to release 
the three imprisoned members, and would introduce legislation on 
the arrears question and the Bright clauses of the Land Act. 

An Irishman might say that everything was rose-colored in the 
Emerald Isle ; it was indeed true that the Irish Question was 
nearer its solution than it had been for many a day. The Govern- 
ment was favorably disposed, or at least Mr. Gladstone was, and 
his strong will controlled his subordinates. But from this clear sky 
fell a thunderbolt. 

The announcements thus made, and similar ones in the House of 
Commons at the same time, were the most important, as indicating 
a change of ministerial policy, that had been made since Sir Robert 
Peel informed the House that he had abandoned the principle of 
Protection ; and they produced a corresponding effect. Of course 
there was but one line of action for Mr. Forster to follow, his Irish 
policy had been severely condemned by the colleagues who had thus 
decided to pursue exactly the opposite course, and he resigned. 



The Second Gladstone Ministry. 



39? 



This vas highly satisfactory to the Irish members, one of whom 
had said that under the new Government Ireland had suffered from 
three things — famine, the House of Lords, and Mr. Forster; the 
speaker and his hearers inclining to the opinion that the last was 
tHo (worst infliction. 




Earl Spencer. 

But everything was not lovely as yet. The Opposition de- 
manded to be informed if the withdrawal of the famous No- rent 
manifesto was a condition of the release of the Irish members. Mr. 
Gladstone replied that information tendered the Government had 
justified and mainly prompted their action in releasing the prisoners, 
and that this was one of the subjects upon which that information 
had touched, Thereupon Mr. Dillon demanded to know if his 



394 The Second Gladstone Ministry. 

name had been used in connection with the manifesto. Mr. Glad- 
stone replied in the negative. Similar questions were asked by- 
Messrs. O'Kelly and Sexton, all three disclaiming such use of their 
names, if it had been made; but Mr. Gladstone answered as before. 
Pressed for a definite reply, he said that the information had been 
voluntarily given by members of the House, whose duty it was to 
make explanations when they were present, but he declined to 
answer further questions on the subject for the present. 

This was followed by a speech from Mr. Forster, who desired to 
explain the reasons for his resignation ; and who, in doing this, 
managed to attack the whole policy of the Government. He was 
a man who made carelessness an art ; even the arrangement of his 
hair, which had the appearance of never having been combed, was 
always so exactly the same that its studied effect became evident. 
His speech on this occasion had the appearance of candor and rug- 
ged honesty; but like the disorder of his dress, it was carefully 
prepared for the occasion. 

In answering this speech, Mr. Gladstone assumed a more defiant 
attitude than on the occasion when he was questioned about the 
manifesto. After the usual compliments upon a late member of 
the Government, he regretted that Mr. Forster should have allowed 
himself to charge the Government with giving the question of the 
rules precedence over all others, regardless of the condition of Irish 
affairs. As far as the release of Mr. Parnell and his associates was 
concerned, the Government was fully responsible for it as for their 
arrest. There had been no concessions made, because there had 
been none required. 

Mr. Parnell and his friends had not been required to make any 
statement that their views had changed. The promised arrears bill 
had nothing to do with their release, for when it was promised the 
Ministry had not come into possession of the information which 
prompted their action in this matter. Possessed of this informa- 
tion, it was not possible for Ministers of the Crown to behave as if 
it had never reached them, and continue the members in their con- 
finement. 

This speech was the prelude to a spirited debate, in the course of 
which the Government was bitterly attacked by the Conservatives, 
and defended by Lord Hartington and Sir William Harcourt, since 



The Second Gladstone Ministry. 395 

the rules would not permit Mr. Gladstone to speak again on the 
same subject. 

Three days later, the English public — indeed, the reading public 
of the world — was horrified by an occurrence in Dublin which was 
speedily told by the wires. The place which Mr. Forster vacated 
had been filled by the appointment of Lord Frederick Cavendish, 
a younger son of the Duke of Devonshire, and a brother of the 
Marquis of Hartington. The new Secretary arrived in Dublin, 
Saturday, May 6th, and took part in the procession which attended 
the entry of Lord Spencer. The ceremony over, he took an outside 
car to drive to his new official residence. 

As he drove through Phoenix Park, he overtook Mr. Burke, a 
Castle official of long standing ; and alighted to walk with him. 
Some bicyclists met the two within a few yards of the monument ; 
going around the monument, these men met an outside car with 
four men in it driving rapidly away. During the brief interval, 
Lord Spencer and some of his friends, looking out from the win- 
dows of the vice-regal mansion into the moonlighted park, had seen 
some sort of a scuffle going on in the road, but thought it was only 
rough horse-play; but it had been the struggle between Cavendish 
and Burke and their murderers. The assassins had made their 
escape before any suspicions were aroused; it seemed that the 
earth had opened and swallowed them up. 

The news created the most profound sensation everywhere. Some 
of the more violent Tories shook their heads and bade their lis- 
teners see what came of a promised abolition of coercion ; but in 
general there was no wild howl for revenge upon the Irish people. 
The Irish parliamentary leaders held a hurried consultation, and 
most emphatically and publicly condemned the deed of the un- 
known assassins ; solemnly declaring that until the murderers were 
brought to justice, a stain would rest upon the good name of the 
Irish people. Public meetings were held at various points in Ire- 
land, and responsibility for the murder, or sympathy with the mur- 
derers, solemnly disclaimed. 

Up to the date of this murder, it had seemed that Ireland was at 
last to be governed in accordance with the ideas of her representa- 
tives; but the dreadful crime had made that, for the present at 
least, an impossibility. The very day after the murder took place, 



396 



The Second Gladstone Ministry. 



there was a hurried Cabinet meeting, at which it was resolved to 
abandon the rules for the present, and bring forward bills for 
amending and extending the Laud and Coercion Acts of the pre- 
vious session. It was perhaps unfortunate for Ireland at this time 
that Sir Charles Dilke and Mr. Chamberlain would not accept the 
Secretaryship without a seat in the Cabinet, and this the Govern- 
ment would not consent to; 
so that Mr. George Otto Tre- 
velyan was appointed to the 
position. 

We may here note that there 
were several other changes in 
the Ministry at this time; but 
the more important ones came 
later on, when Mr. Gladstone 
| resigned the Chancellorship of 
| the Exchequer to Mr. Chil- 
1 ders, Hartington and Kimber- 
1 ley assumed other duties than 
i those for which they had be<n 
| originally appointed, Lord 
| Derby became Colonial Secre- 
| tary, and Mr. Bright resigned 
| the post of Chancellor of the 
I Duchv of Lancaster. Mr. 
Herbert Gladstone had been 
appointed to a subordinate 
post in the summer of the 
previous year, and was now advanced to a vacancy in the 
Treasury. He had been for some years rather a prominent figure 
in parliament, though so woefully overshadowed by the greatness 
of his name. 

The funeral of Lord Frederick Cavendish took place May 11th, 
and on the evening of that day the new Crimes Bill was introduced 
into the House of Commons. This was a measure with which Mr. 
Gladstone does not seem to have been in full accord ; it was one 
instance in which his dominant will had to give way. It had fre- 
quently been remarked that he was the out prominent figure in the 




Hon. Herbert Gladstone. 



The Second Gladstone Ministry. 397 

Ministry; it was he who replied to all questions, on all subjects 
whatever; the special Minister contenting himself with the briefest 
of answers; but Sir William Harcourt had threatened to resign if 
the Government would not support his bill ; and Mr. Gladstone did 
not feel his support so certain that he could atFord to dispense with 
so great an ally in debate. 

The Whigs were almost mutinous; they had never thoroughly 
trusted the " Grand Old Man/' thinking him, as did the Tories of 
Oxford, too brilliant to be entirely safe; and the progressiveuess 
of his policy alarmed them ; they were not his only foes concealed 
under the guise of friends ; for although Mr. Forster had not gone 
so far as to take a seat on the Opposition benches he was all but 
an avowed enemy to the Government. 

The Crimes Bill was, to say the least, alarming to the Irish 
members. Its first provision was for the abolition of trial by jury 
in certain cases, when it was supposed that jurors would be pre- 
vented from returning a condemnatory verdict by intimidation. 
This was not in itself specially objectionable, for the necessity of it 
was recognized ; but what was strenuously opposed was the inclu- 
sion of treason and treason-felony in the list of crimes to be so tried. 
The danger of such a provision to the Irish members themselves 
will be readily seen, and the Bill was bitterly opposed. 

While the new Bill was still pending, the question of the Kil- 
mainham Treaty, as the agreement by which Mr. Parnell and his 
colleagues had been released from jail was called, was again brought 
before the House. After what an Irishman would call " A very 
pretty quarrel, barring no heads were brokeu," Mr. Balfour 
attacked the Government for making a compromise with Mr. Par- 
nell. Mr. Gladstone angrily replied that there was no truth in the 
assertion which Mr. Balfour had made about the part of the Gov- 
ernment. The Kilmainham business was not settled by this 
debate, but kept cropping up throughout the remainder of the ses- 
sion ; though the interest was lessened by the condition of the main 
Irish Question. 

The Irish members obstructed the passage of the Crimes Bill by 
every means in their power; but so cunningly was their work done 
that there was no excuse for an " urgency motion," or for other 
strong measures. The obstruction came to a head on the last 



398 



The Second Gladstone Ministry. 



night of June. Early in the afternoon rumors of an all-night sit- 
ting began to circulate in the lobbies, and the prediction did not 
lack fulfillment. It was nine o'clock in the morning when Mr. 
Playfair rose to warn the House that legislation had been system- 
atically obstructed, and that he should have to indicate the members 
who were engaged in it. At this warning, those members who had 
been in other parts of the building came hurrying to the legislative 
chamber, and there was a good audience when, in accordance with 

his threat, Mr. Playfair rose 
to indicate the obstructionists. 
Fifteen members were 
found in the list ; but Mr. 
Childers, whose duty it was, 
in the absence of Mr. Glad- 
stone, to move their suspen- 
sion, inserted another; and 
the motion was carried by a 
vote of a hundred and twenty- 
six to twenty-seven. The 
remaining Irish members, 
nothing daunted by the fate 
of their colleagues, carried 
on the debate with as much 
vigor as ever, until the sus- 
pension of nine more of them 
rendered it possible to rush 
the bill through. After a 
Hon. Arthur Balfour. continuous sitting of twenty- 

three hours, the committee of the whole was enabled to report pro- 
gress, and the bill was passed as far as the thirtieth clause. 

Mr. Gladstone moved that the business of the House was urgent 
on the following Tuesday (July 4th) ; but the haste with which the 
bill was pushed was not altogether favorable to the Government, 
for the Irish members who had not been suspended refused to take 
any further part in the proceedings, and their withdrawal from the 
House caused the defeat of the Government on one of the amend- 
ments ; since the Whigs were opposed to any amendment which 
lessened the stringency, and their defection made the Government 




The Second Gladstone Ministry. 39b 

dependent upon the Third Party. There were many prophecies of 
a change which was supposed to be imminent — either a resignation 
or an appeal to the country ; but Mr. Gladstone explained that the 
state of Ireland was such that he would not withdraw the bill, nor 
would he resign. 

The bill was finally passed on the 9th, and went up to the Lords. 
They accorded it a much more gracious reception than they gave to 
the Arrears Bill, a measure which they sent back to the Commons 
with several amendments which rendered it practically valueless. 
It was a direct challenge to the Premier, who very coolly picked up 
the glove thus arrogantly flung down. He would compromise with 
the Peers ; certainly, but the compromise which he was willing to 
make consisted in the acceptance of an amendment which did not 
mean anything, and the rejection of those which did. Lord Salis- 
bury wanted to fight it out, but Mr. Gladstone had the House of 
Commons at his back, and the House of Lords was by no means 
ready to follow Lord Salisbury into the battle ; so the Peers 
yielded, and passed the Arrears Bill. 

The debate on the Crimes Bill and the difficulty with the 
Arrears Bill had been such that it was confidently expected that the 
Government must fall. We have alluded to the stand which the 
Whigs had taken of late, and have seen that no help was to be ex- 
pected from those Home Rulers who ordinarily sat on the Liberal 
side. Mr. Forster was no mean adversary, and many of the Min- 
istry were bitterly angry with Mr. Gladstone for his dominating 
control of the Government. Mr. Bright was almost the only man 
of prominence who clung to the Premier with all of his old admira- 
tion, which amounted almost to adoration ; and the middle of July 
saw him leave the Ministry. His resignation was forced upon him 
by the action of the Government with regard to Egypt, it being 
well known that he could not be a member of any Ministry which 
was a party to war. 

It is time that we should give some attention to this contest in 
which England was now involved. The financial condition of 
Egypt was such that the Khedive had requested the intervention of 
the Powers, and a Ministry has been formed with an Englishman 
and a Frenchman in it; the latter being appointed solely to satisfy 
France that England was not seeking any undue advantage. But 



400 The Second Gladstone Ministry. 

there was a National Party in Egypt which resented these appoint- 
ments very much, and finally succeeded in making its power felt. 
The Khedive found that he had exchanged masters; for Arabi Bey 
was the real ruler. 

During the first months of 1882 there was indeed a calm, but it 
was the calm which precedes the storm. The English Government 
regarded Arabi as simply an adventurer, who was not worth any 
attention. France and England were both agreed, however, that 
they would have a hand in the government of Egypt, and Egypt 
could not defy both. But a change of Ministry in France caused 
that country to change her policy, and the Egyptian Nationalists 
saw that this was their opportunity. 

In April, 1882, a plot was discovered, so said Arabi's officers, to 
assassinate that high dignitary. The accused were tried in secret 
and found guilty of a plot to overthrow both Tewfik and Arabi, 
and restore Ismail Pasha ; but the Khedive refused to sign the 
decrees of the court. It was hinted that this refusal would cause 
the massacre of foreigners in Egypt, and the English and French 
Governments at once ordered their ironclads to Alexandria, the 
order coupled with a demand that Arabi Pasha, as he was now 
titled, should be compelled to leave the country, along with 
his immediate allies. 

In the meantime the utmost confusion reigned in Alexandria, 
where there is a considerable number of European residents. The 
crisis came June 11; we do not propose to discuss who struck the 
first blow, for that has never been definitely settled, but there were 
many people killed, and all the Europeans who could get away did 
so. The British Government hesitated about landing troops, even 
after this riot, and much was trusted to diplomacy. But suddenly 
England, after many endeavors to secure European concert, resolved 
to act alone Due notice was given of the proposed interference by 
arms; but the Egyptians kept on with their fortifications. The 
French fleet steamed away ; the English vessels took up their 
positions for the siege. 

The bombardment continued until a flag of truce was raised ; 
but the admiral had not a sufficient force to occupy the town, and 
a scene of the wildest confusion ensued. Finally, order was re- 
stored by the stern action of the marines, and the Khedive was 



The Second Gladstone Ministry. 401 

escorted back to the city. The action of the English Government 
was bitterly condemned as inconsistent with the former opposition 
of the Liberals to war, when the Conservatives had been in power; 
and the progress of the war during the summer of 1882 was such 
that their fault was not hidden by their success, as the faults of a 
Ministry sometimes are. 

The health of Mr. Gladstone during these months had been such 
as to give room for the gravest apprehension. Not only was his 
physical strength rapidly failing, but it was seriously alleged that 
his mental powers were giving way. Still, with a dogged persist- 
ency, he kept on ; and his iron will still made itself felt in the 
Cabinet. 

Parliament was prorogued in August until October 24th. During 
the recess, the war with Egypt became a little more popular, the 
battle of Tel-el-Kebir resulting in a victory for the British. This 
was practically the end of the war, for Arabi was a prisoner ; and 
although there were some positions which the Nationalists still 
held, it was not long before they surrendered. 

The autumn session was for the purpose of considering the new 
rules which had been set aside when the Phoenix Park murders 
made coercion the question of the hour. Mr. Gladstone at once 
made an urgency motion, which was carried without difficulty, and 
the House adjourned. The debate began again the next day, and 
was continued with varying interest. The Conservatives had no 
leader worthy of the name, and the party suffered thereby. Sir 
Stafford Northcote was nominally the head of the Opposition, but 
there was no attention whatever paid to his opinions. His mild 
urbanity was not sufficient to make him a trusted and efficient 
leader ; and the members of his own party, notably of that bran< h 
of it which was led by Lord Randolph Churchill, lost no opportu- 
nity of displaying their contempt for him. 

On the other hand, Mr. Gladstone seemed to have regained all 
that he seemed on the verge of losing. Richard was himself again, 
and the Liberals had fresh courage. Said a newspaper writer of 
the time : " It is marvellous how small need be the occasion to 
elicit from him a speech which dazzles, amuses, inspires and be- 
wilders the hearer. When poor, dull, shambling Sir Stafford 
Northcote gets up after one of these displays, the effect is about as 
26 



402 The Second Gladstone Ministry. 

pleasant as the shrill note of a tin whistle after the sublime notes 
of an organ fugue." 

At this time the figure of Gladstone towered higher than ever 
above the level of the House of Commons. He was without a 
rival of importance; all his enemies seemed utterly powerless 
against him ; it was Gladstone or utter chaos ; and the Tories 
ground their teeth when they saw that it was so. 

If the leader of the Conservatives was like oatmeal porridge, well 
sweetened, palatable and nutritious, but not in the least stimulating 
there was one man who aspired to his position who was decidedly 
champagny. This was Lord Randolph Churchill, whose long- 
continued contempt for Northcote culminated in an open attack 
during this autumn session. The Opposition was badly demoral- 
ized, and the Government carried its point in regard to the long- 
discussed rules. 

Mr. Gladstone's improvement in health had been only temporary, 
and at the beginning of winter he was advised by his physicians to 
try the south of France. He had of late been subject to fits of pro- 
found depression, and this was regarded as a most ominous symp- 
tom. He remained at Cannes all winter, not returning to Parlia- 
liament until March 10th. It was during his absence that the 
evidence of Carey regarding the Phoenix Park murders was 
taken. The prosecution of Messrs. O'Brien, Harrington and 
others also took place; but these events hardly have a place 
in the biography of the Premier. 

There was very hearty advice tendered him by his colleagues 
to remain at Cannes until after Easter ; but although the mild 
climate had not done all that it was expected to do, he was 
unwilling to give more time to the care of his health. The 
Ministers without Mr. Gladstone were like schoolboys in the 
absence of their teacher; they enjoyed their liberty exceedingly, 
and we cannot say that they made good use of it in all re- 
spects. 

There had been a very distinct announcement that this was 
not to be an Irish session ; but the Parnellites kept hammer- 
ing away at the Irish Question as if they had heard nothing 
of the kind. This gave the impression that the Irishmen would 
break the session, and the session would break Mr. Gladstone t 



The Second Gladstone Ministry. 403 

His critics did not know what a wonderful fund of vitality 
there was in the man of seventy-three. 

But if Mr. Gladstone were hardly equal to any sustained con- 
test, there was no prospect that the Conservatives would be 
able to force any such upon him. Their ranks appeared to be 
hopelessly disorganized; Sir Stafford Northcote had added ill- 
ness to the natural unfitness for his position ; and Lord Ran- 
dolph Churchill and his allies never failed to cast disrespect 
upon the titular leaders of the party. It was openly said that the 
young nobleman was but an instrument of his father, the Duke 
of Marlborough, in the endeavor to make Lord Salisbury the 
chief of the Conservative party; an effort which was not with- 
out success later on. 

The Tories, thus disabled from serious combat, adopted the 
tactics which had been so brilliantly successful under the skillful 
management of the Irish leader, and became indomitable ob- 
structionists. 

If the Conservatives had their worst enemies within their 
own party the Liberals were hardly more fortunate. Mr. Forster 
had never recovered his good temper since the Government 
so emphatically condemned his Irish policy, and the culmina- 
tion of this ill humor came in a bitter personal attack upon 
Mr. Gladstone. This was fun for the Tories, who frequently 
interrupted him by their ecstatic cheers, for his speech was 
chiefly about the war policy of the Government. This attack 
was a most successful one, for it had a tremendous effect upon 
Mr. Gladstone. He was naturally easily affected, and when 
he arose to reply his frame fairly quivered with his emotions. 
He slashed at Forster without stint or mercy, calling him 
"the man of peace who preached war." The storehouse of 
his scorn was ransacked for expressions suited to the occasion. 
Meanwhile Mr. Forster sat trembling at the spirit which he 
had himself invoked ; shading his face with his hand he made no 
sign of reply to the great orator. 

The Government found itself involved in difficulties which threat- 
ened to be very serious, when the result of the negotiations with 
M. de Lesseps was announced. That eminent engineer was then 
advocating the cutting of a second Suez canal, and in this project 



404 The Second Gladstone Ministry. 

the Ministry agreed to help him. But the plan raised opposition 
at unce ; not only among the Tories, from whom it was only to be 
expected, but among many of the Liberals as well. Under such 
circumstances, the Government quietly withdrew its promises to 
M. de Lesseps, on the ground that it had acted in the way that it 
thought would be most acceptable to the country, but the country 
had emphatically disapproved of that course. The Opposition at 
one time had an excellent opportunity to defeat the Government 
upon this measure, but lost it by their bungling. The Govern- 
ment had stood many storms, and was not to fall for two years. 

But before this had come up for discussion, there had been a 
measure forced upon Parliament by the attempt to blow up the 
public buildings. About the middle of March, there had been an 
effort directed against the office of the Local Government Board, 
but beyond the breaking of a great many windows, and the shat- 
tering of one wall, there was not much damage done. Other 
attempts were frustrated by accidents to the infernal machines used, 
but some were partially successful. Finally, in the first week of 
April, the police discovered a conspiracy of eight men who were 
engaged in the importation of the materials for the explosive, and 
the manufactured article. Their connection with Irish-American 
advocates of the use of dynamite was clearly proved. To meet 
such cases the Explosives Bill was introduced into the House of 
Commons, April 9th, and passed through all its stages within two 
hours, was sent to the Lords, and became a law at once. 

The Bradlaugh question came up again this session. Lord 
Hartington had announced at the beginning of the session, in 
answer to a question that the Government intended to bring in a 
bill affirming that members who objected to the oath should be 
permitted to affirm; and this bill came up for its second reading 
early in May. There was a bitter debate, and the defeat of the 
Government was inevitable; it was thought that the Opposition 
would have a considerable majority. But the Ministry took care 
to state that this was a question upon which the House must decide, 
not a measure which would by its passage or otherwise mean a 
defeat for the Government. 

When, therefore, after a scene of intense excitement, the division 
was taken, the only thing surprising about the vote was the fact 



The Second Gladstone Ministry. 405 

that the nays had a majority of no more than three. But although 
the Government had declared that this was not regarded as a vote 
of confidence, the defeat had its effect upon the minds of men. 
Difficulties had beset the second Gladstone administration since its 
very inception; it hung, ofttimes, by a thread which a single vote 
might snap; and men felt that that thread was worn thinner and 
thinner by such events as this. 

The Egyptian troubles of the Government had not come to an 
end with the victory of Tel el-Kebir, but were to continue for 
some time yet under the form of the Soudan difficulties. Briefly 
stated, the people of the Soudan had revolted against the authority of 
Egypt, their leader being El Mahdi, or the Prophet, as he was called 
by his followers. The coming of a prophet who was to perform 
certain things for the waiting Mussulmans had been foretold, it was 
said, by the Koran; and this man's career was a fulfillment of the 
prophecies. Armed with such authority as this claim gave him 
over the people of this section, he had defied the rule of the 
Khedive. 

The Soudan was a desolate district, the Government argued, and 
not worth asserting a claim over; and it was far from certain that 
the Khedive had any real right to control it. England, therefore, 
advised Egypt to abandon it, and fix the southern boundary of her 
possessions considerably to the north of the late position ; but there 
were European residents and garrisons in the disputed territory 
which she was thus virtually commanded to relinquish, and the 
safety of these must be cared for. It was to protect these that 
England was now anxious ; and the disasters which, later on, made 
the name of the Soudan memorable, were directly traceable to this 
endeavor. 

Such was the main question that occupied the minds of the Min- 
isters during the recess. Other threatened troubles there were, in 
connection with other Powers; Russia appeared to be aiming at 
more than her due share of Asiatic territory ; and France was 
apparently offending in the same quarter. The Russian advance 
was considered especially inimical to England, as threatening her 
overland intercourse with her Indian possessions. 

Parliament opened February 5th. Mr. Gladstone was in more 
robust health than he had been for some time, and had amused 



406 



The Second Gladstone Ministry. 



himself during the recess by felling trees, as if it were the midst 
of summer. It was well that he had this store of strength in 
reserve, for all of it was to be needed during the coming session. 

At the Cabinet meetings preceding the opening of Parliament it 
was decided to introduce a Reform measure. Such a bill was 
accordingly considered, and the conclusion arrived at that, notwith- 
standing the dis- 
turbed state of 
that country, Ire- 
and must be 
given her share of 
the extended rep- 
resentation. But 
the Conservatives 




Mr- Gladstone as a Woodman — His Favorite Recreation. 

were bitterly opposed to any measure of Reform, considering that 
the Act passed by the Disraeli Government had been quite liberal 
enough ; and their opposition manifested itself long before the 
opening of the session. One prominent Conservative declared that 
the session would begin, continue, and end in a storm. 

But the chief difficulty of the Government was in regard to the 
Egyptian troubles. The problem received its solution, they thought, 



The Second Gladstone Ministry. 40? 

when "Chinese" Gordon agreed to undertake the task of pacifica- 
tion. He was appointed for this task in January, and was on his 
way to the Soudan before the session began. He refused a military 
escort, believing that it would render his plans futile, and set off 
across the desert with a mere handful of followers. The character 
of Gordon has been too often delineated of late years for it to be 
necessary here to expatiate upon his virtues ; and we shall take for 
granted that our readers are well acquainted with the course of 
these comparatively recent events, and make only such reference 
as may be necessary to explain the position of the Gladstone 
Ministry. 

It remains only for us to say, that the course which England had 
pursued in this matter was unanimously approved by the other 
nations of Europe ; and that while the general anxiety regarding 
the fate of Gordon was intense, it was felt that he could settle the 
difficulty, if it were in human power. 

The Queen's speech promised a great deal of legislation. It was 
viaively remarked by a journal of the day, that the Ministers 
denied to think that Parliament met with the intention of transact- 
ing business. It was announced that there would be a Bill for the 
Extension of the Franchise, which would apply to Ireland as well 
as to the sister kingdoms ; that the extension and reform of local 
government would be considered ; that it was proposed to extend 
municipal government to the whole of the metropolis; and many 
minor reforms were promised. 

The Houses had hardly met before the Egyptian troubles came 
up for discussion. An amendment to the address, censuring the 
Government for its course in this matter, was presented ; but 
although there were but ninety-seven members present when the 
division was taken, the Ministry had a majority of fifty-five. The 
vote was the more favorable, because of the disaster to Baker 
Pasha's force for the relief of Tokar. But this was not the last of 
the subject. 

A week after Parliament met, there was a vote of censure pro- 
posed in both Houses. This, of itself, indicated the growing con- 
fidence of the Conservatives, since the proposing such a vote, when 
there was small prospect of carrying it through, was a great mistake. 
In the House of Lords the vote was carried by a majority of one 



408 The Second Gladstone Ministry. 

hundred, after a very brief debate ; but the Commons had more to 
say about it. 

The Premier defended his course in a speech which was remark- 
ably eloquent even for him. The troubles had grown directly out of 
the Dual Control, a system which had been the result of Conserva- 
tive ingenuity when that party held the reigns of power, and for 
which the Liberal Government could not therefore be held fairly 
responsible. He was ably seconded by other members of the 
Ministry ; indeed, the Liberals had by far the best of the argu- 
ment, and as the Irish members had promised to hold aloof from 
the question, a considerable majority was hoped for. But the 
Parnellites reconsidered this pledge, and finally followed the Con- 
servatives into the lobby. The debate had lasted a week, and 
resulted in a majority for the Government of forty-nine. 

This result was without doubt brought about by the success for 
the time being of the Government's policy ; had the fortunes of 
war been less favorable, the majority might have been on the other 
side. 

During the time that the vote of censure was still pending, Mr. 
Bradlaugh showed himself as irrepressible as ever; but being 
excluded from the House, he applied for the Chiltern Hundreds, 
an office without pay or duties, but appointment to which is incom- 
patible with membership of Parliament ; as the latter is an honor 
which cannot be resigned, a British legislator who desires to retire 
applies for this post, forfeits his seat, and resigns the stewardship 
of the Chiltern Hundreds at once, that it may be vacant and wait- 
ing for the next applicant. Mr. Bradlaugh, having gone through 
this little ceremony, the Government went through that other little 
ceremony of issuing a new writ for Northampton, and Mr. Brad- 
laugh went through the third ceremony of being elected. 

The two Houses of Parliament may be said (somewhat irrever- 
ently) to resemble that little girl Longfellow tells of, who, 

" When she was good, she was very good indeed, 
But when she was bad she was horrid." 

They showed themselves very good indeed over the question of 
erecting better dwellings for the poor in the great centres of popu- 
lation ; and there was quite a remarkable case of party union. 
In the meantime the Egyptian question had raised its head again, 



Ihe Second Gladstone Ministry. 



409 



and was spitting fire at the Ministry. In a debate which took 
place at the beginning of April, Mr. Gladstone inveighed bitterly 
against the opposition's constant harping on this subject; seventeen 
nights, he said, had been spent in fruitless discussion of the Soudan 
question, and the Ministry had been much enibairassed by this course. 




General ( Chinese) Gordon. 

Mr. Gladstone, it was said, had "rarely, if ever surpassed, this re- 
markable philippic for energy or earnestness." The Government was 
sustained by the testimony of Gordon himself at this time, as com- 
munication with Khartoum had not yet been interrupted, and dis- 
patches were frequently received from him, stating that he was 
entirely safe, and had much hope of the success of his mission. 
A little later, however, the dispatches assumed a less confident 



410 



The Second Gladstone Ministry. 



tone, and the Government determined to send an expedition to rescue 
the popular hero. This determination was perhaps the result of Mr. 
Gladstone's restoration to health ; as there was a perceptible difference 
in the vigor of the Government's Egyptian policy during his pros- 
tration and after his return to the active conduct of affairs. 

But the Conservatives were not deterred from their attack. Sir 
Michael Hicks-Beach replied to Mr. Gladstone's speech a few days 
later, by moving a vote of censure uj)on the Government's Egyp- 
tian policy ; a vote of cen- 
sure had come to be quite 
the usual thing at this 
time. Mr. Gladstone's im- 
passioned speech during 
this debate pledged the 
Government to secure Gor- 
don's personal safety, if 
such a thing were within 
human power. The debate 
was a warm one, and in- 
iHs eluded a bitter personal at- 
fjjl tack upon the Premier by 
jf his pretended ally and late 
colleague, Mr. Forster ; 
who was answered by Lord 
Hartington, since the rules 
of the House did not allow 
Mr. Gladstone to speak 
the second time on the question then before it. 

There was considerable anxiety to know what would be the 
course of the Parnellites upon this occasion. They remained stub- 
bornly in their seats as the Liberals and Conservatives filed out to 
the lobbies ; then rising at last followed the Opposition. Notwith- 
standing this adverse vote, the motion was lost by a majority of 
twenty-eight ; and the members of the Government party went 
home triumphant through the gray of that early May morning. 
The Government had certainly lost prestige, but it was equally 
certain that the Opposition had not gained any. 

Prorogued in August, Parliament did not meet again until 




Sir Michael Hicks-Beach. 



The Second Gladstone Ministry. 41 1 

October 24th. In the meantime, Mr. Gladstone had paid a visit to 
his Scotch constituents and their neighbors, and been received with 
an enthusiasm which made amends for much that was unpleasant 
in his parliamentary life. His passage through the crowded streets 
of Aberdeen was a veritable triumphal progress. 

Parliament adjourned over the Christmas holidays, not meeting 
again until February 19th. 

The debate upon the Address furnished an opportunity to Lord 
Salisbury to attack the Government on the old question of the 
Soudan troubles ; Sir Stafford Northcote also proposed a vote of 
censure in the lower House. Mr. Gladstone, who had looked care- 
worn and pale at the opening of the session, was more like himself 
when the resolution came up for debate, and addressed the House 
with his usual vigor. After a thrilling eulogium of Gordon, he 
asserted that the policy which the Government had pursued had 
maintained the safety of Egypt, and had checked the progress of 
the slave trade. It should be noted that while the Opposition 
never lost an opportunity of attacking the Egyptian policy of the 
Government, the Conservatives appeared to have no other course 
to recommend ; they did not know just how to do it, excepting 
that they did not like the Government's way. 

Another difficulty had arisen in the Russian advance in Central 
Asia. Russia seemed to be the embodiment to the British mind of 
all that is selfishly ambitious, and every movement was watched with 
a distrustful jealousy. The English had had more trouble with 
Afghanistan than it was well worth, but they were willing to take 
much more rather than see their overland path to India barred by 
Russian encroachments. Mr. Gladstone, however, was in hopes 
that the troubles would be satisfactorily settled by negotiations 
which were in progress, but it proved that he was too sanguine. 

The Russian Government continued to disown the acts of its 
agents and to promise to give instructions that would prevent fur- 
ther difficulties ; but the agents were evidently not advised that 
they were acting contrary to the Government's wishes, and the 
instructions were never given. War was therefore imminent, and 
the Government asked for a war vote of £11,000,000. This was 
not to be applied exclusively to military uses in Afghanistan, but 
might also be applied toward the expenses of operations in the 



412 The Second Gladstone Ministry. 

Soudan if necessary. To this the Conservatives would not consent ; 
the Soudan had cost the country enough already, not only in money, 
but in life ; above all, in the loss of gallant Gordon, whose death 
had saddened many a heart in England. Kartoum had fallen, the 
Soudan expedition was practically a failure, and the Opposition did 
not believe in sending good money after bad ; if the Guvernment 
wanted two war votes, let them ask for them separately. 

Mr. Gladstone made one of the most remarkable speeches of this 
Ministry upon the occasion of asking for this vote of credit, and the 
request of the Government was finally granted. But it proved that 
the fears of war were not well grounded ; for the resumption of 
friendly relations was duly chronicled by Mr. Gladstone, whose 
statement was received with enthusiastic cheers. 

The budget was introduced April 30th. Those of the preceding 
two years had been simple measures; the most notable provision of 
that of 1884 being the issuing of ten shilling tokens, worth intrin- 
sically only nine shillings ; the difference between the real and the 
legal tender value being intended to defray the cost of calling 
in and recoining the numerous coins which had become light 
weight by long wear. Though this plan had received the approba- 
tion of many leading economists, it was hotly opposed by Lord 
Randolph Churchill and some others, and ridiculed by most of the 
newspapers. 

The budget of 1885 was much more complex, dealing with the 
war vote as it must. The estimated expenditure was £99,872,000, 
and there was an estimated deficit of .£14,912,000. To meet this 
enormous deficiency, it was proposed to raise the income tax one 
penny, increase the duty upon spirituous and malt liquors, and raise 
some other duties of minor importance. The Conservatives opposed 
these taxes on spirituous and malt liquors, on the ground that there 
should be a corresponding increase in the tax on wines, but it was 
not thought that this contest would assume a very serious form. 

About the middle of May there were two announcements made, 
which showed well for the country's prosperity ; the troops were to 
be finally withdrawn from the Soudan, thus doing away with that 
source of expense; and the two governments had agreed as to the 
Afghan boundary. 

On the occasion of the vote upon the Civil Service and Revenue 



The Second Gladstone Ministry. 413 

Departments' Estimate, Lord Randolph Churchill and some others 
having indulged in frequent interruptions of Mr. Gladstone's 
opt eeh, the venerable statesman uttered one of the most touching 
rebukes which the House of Commons has ever heard. It was not 
that he complained for one whose term of membership in that 
House might be numbered by days, he said, and must certainly be 
bounded by months rather than by years, but for the sake of the 
dignity of the House, he protested against these frequent and un- 
called-for interruptions. The rebuke seems to have had its desired 
effect. 

The budget came up for final discussion June 7th. The House 
seemed half asleep. It looked as if there was nothing which could 
rouse the members on either side to the height of cheering; and Sir 
Michael Hicks-Beach spoke unaided by signs of sympathy from 
the Conservatives, uninterrupted by dissenting voices on the Lib- 
eral side. Nobody seemed to care whether he spoke or not, and 
even Mr. Warton, who nearly always caused the House to unbend 
to merriment, found the members unresponsive. There was no ex- 
citement in the lobbies ; there was no interest anywhere. 

It was after midnight when Mr. Childers concluded his speech, 
and Mr. Gladstone rose to close the debate. His appearance was 
not promising; for some time past he had been accustomed to leave 
the House before this hour, and he looked thoroughly tired out. 
His voice was feeble, and his manner deprecatory ; the House pre- 
pared to doze again. 

But suddenly he burst into brilliancy. The speech which began 
thus unpromisingly was the brightest and most vivacious that had 
been heard from his lips for many a day. There were not wanting 
those who said that it was the best speech he had ever deliv- 
ered ; but this was perhaps an exaggeration, due to the immense 
difference between this and the previous efforts of the night. He 
seemed to court the interruption which he had rebuked a short 
time before; it only afforded opportunities for him to retaliate upon 
his enemies. 

He was especially strong in his attacks upon Lord Randolph 
Churchill, and one of his happiest hits was in speaking of the Op- 
position which " calls itself sometimes Conservative and sometimes 
the Tory Democracy ; " in reply to which Lord Randolph took off 



414 The Second Gladstone Ministry. 

his hat with a bow in ironical acknowledgment. " To sum up, 
Mr. Gladstone thoroughly enjoyed himself, and the House thor- 
oughly enjoyed Mr. Gladstone." The great speech ended amid the 
vehement cheers of the Ministry, and the division was taken. 
There was no hope among the Tories ; the only question was, what 
would be the Government's majority? And this did not excite 
any special interest. 

The suspicion of the real state of affairs did not begin to dawn 
upon the Opposition until the division was approaching its end. 
Then, as they saw that the stream of men going into the Conser- 
vative lobby was as full as ever, that going into the other was per- 
ceptibly diminishing. Then began the excitement of the night, or 
rather morning, " What's your number ? " was eagerly demanded 
of each Conservative as he returned to the House, by a score of his 
eager comrades. At last the teller for the Government was seen 
approaching the table, and there was an intense stillness until they 
had heard the number — two hundred and fifty-two. Had the Con- 
servatives beaten this ? It was soon known that they had, and 
then began the uproar. 

The most vehement was of course Lord Randolph Churchill. 
He was like a schoolboy whose club has beaten in a great match. 
He waved his hat at arm's length, then got upon his seat and 
waved it over the heads of the excited assemblage, There were 
others to follow his example, and they cheered until they were 
hoarse. The Ministry answered by defiant counter-cheers, and the 
Parnellites took up the cry. " Coercion ! " " Buckshot ! " " Spen- 
cer !" they shouted, forgetful of all that had been done for them 
by this Government. 

There were but two men in the House who were entirely silent. 
One of these sat among his handful of followers, a happy smile 
upon his pale face, but his habitual self control strong now as ever; 
he was Charles Stuart Parnell. The other sat with his portfolio 
on his knees, writing as composedly as the reporters in the gallery 
above the account of the fall of his Ministry. 

At last the numbers were told, and the House was reduced to 
some sort of order. Then the man who had been thus coolly writ- 
ing arose. There was a burst of enthusiastic cheers from his fol- 
lowers, answered by loud shouts of triumph from the other side. 



The Second Gladstone Ministry. 415 

For a moment it seemed as if he would not be heard at all ; but he 
stood calmly waiting for quiet, now and then dotting an i or cross- 
ing a t in his dispatch. At last he made his voice heard; he 
simply moved an adjournment. 

The House began to empty at once. The Conservatives went 
home to dream of the success which they had so unexpectedly 
achieved ; the Liberals to brood over their equally unexpected 
defeat. It seems strange that a Government whose fall had been 
predicted so many times should at last succumb when it was 
thought to be strong ; after tottering so many times from its incep- 
tion, ite final fall was a surprise to all. 



CHAPTER XV. 

THIRD AND FOURTH ADMINISTRATIONS. 

Mr. Gladstone Again in Scotland — Lord Salisbury on Public Questions — Result 
of the Elections — Third Gladstone Ministry — Advocates Giving Ireland 
the Right to Make Her Own Laws — Irish Land Purchase Bill — Second 
Reading of Irish Home Rule Bill — Eloquent Appeal on Behalf of Ireland 
— Irish Bills Condemned by John Bright— Rupture Between the Two 
Great Leaders — General Election of 1886- Defeat of the Liberals — Policy 
of Coercion — Action of the Tory Government — The Premier's Retirement 
— Lord Rosebery Successor to Mr. Gladstone. 

\ I I HE first general election under the new Reform Act was held 
<$ I 1$ in November, 1885. Mr. Gladstone again appeared before 
his Midlothian constituents, and, although nearly seventy- 
six years of age, spoke with an energy and force far beyond all his 
contemporaries. By his attitude on the Disestablishment question 
he drew back many wavering Scotch votes. Discussing the Irish 
question at Edinburg, he said that, so long as we dealt liberally, 
equitably, and prudently with Ireland, this country had nothing to 
fear from any change ; but whatever demands were entertained must 
be subject to the condition that the unity of the empire, and all the 
powers of the Imperial Parliament for maintaining that authority, 
must be preserved. 

In a second address he affirmed his conviction that the day had 
not come when the disestablishment of the church should be made 
a test question. Land reform, local government, parliamentary 
procedure, and the imperial relations between Ireland and England 
were questions pres s ing for settlement by the next Parliament, and 
every sensible man would admit that it was right to direct attention 
to them rather than to a matter impossible of immediate solution. 

In a speech at West Calder, Mr. Gladstone approved Lord Salis- 
bury's action with regard to Servia, complained of the ministerial 
condemnation of Lord Ripon's Indian administration, ridiculed the 
idea of benefit resulting from a royal commission on trade depres- 
sion, warned the electors against remedies which were really worse 
than the disease, and defended free trade principles. He further 
416 




fiq 



ftj 



Gl 



G3 



27 



417 



418 - Third and Fourth Administrations. 

advocated comprehensive land reforms, including free transfer 
facility of registration, and the uprooting of mortmain. 

Again speaking at Edinburgh, he vindicated the policy of the 
late Government in the Transvaal, and, alluding to Mr. Parnell's 
manifesto directing that a solid Irish vote should be cast for the 
Tories at the impending elections, he said that the Liberal party 
would continue to act in the same friendly and generous spirit 
towards Ireland as it had shown during the last fifty years unde- 
terred by the threats or opprobrious language of Mr. Parnell. 

The elections resulted in the return of 333 Liberals, 249 Con- 
servatives, 86 Parnellites, and 2 Independents. The Liberals thus 
secured a substantial triumph ; but one of the most gratifying fea- 
tures of the electoral contest was the return of Mr. Gladstone for 
Midlothian by an overwhelming majority. 

The parliamentary session of 1886 had scarcely opened before 
the Salisbury Government was defeated upon an amendment t€ 
the Address, moved by Mr. Jesse Ceilings, affirming the necessity 
for affording facilities to agricultural laborers to obtain allotments 
and small holdings. Several influential Liberals opposed the 
amendment, but Mr. Gladstone warmly supported it, as a recog- 
nition of the agricultural laborer's position, and of the mischiefs 
arising from the divorce of so large a portion of the population 
from the land. The Irish members coalesced with the Liberals, 
and the Government was placed in a minority of 79. Lord Salis- 
bury immediately resigned. 

Mr. Gladstone was sent for by the Queen, and succeeded in 
forming his third Ministry, February, 1886. The new Premier 
was faced by unusual difficulties; but after anxious thought he 
had come to the conclusion that it was no longer possible to deal 
with the Irish difficulty upon the old stereotyped lines. He was 
resolved to treat this all-absorbing question upon large and gener- 
ous principles. Accordingly on the 8th of April, in a House 
densely crowded and profoundly interested, the Prime Minister 
brought forward his Bill to amend the provisions for the future 
government of Ireland — in effect, a measure for granting Home 
Rule to the Irish people; but with certain Imperial reservations 
and safeguards. 

Mr. Gladstone traced the history of the Irish question, aud ex- 



Third and Fourth Administrations. 419 

pressed his conviction that the time had come for granting to Ire- 
land that which she had long been loudly demanding — the right to 
make her own laws. The bill, however, was not only opposed by 
the Conservatives, but by Lord Hartington, Mr. Chamberlain, and 
other Liberal dissentients, who were subsequently kuown as Liberal 
Unionists, in contradistinction to the Gladstonian Liberals, who 




Hon. Joseph M. Chamberlain. 

continued to form the great bulk of the Liberal party, and who 
are still in fact the Liberal party. 

The Bill having been read a first time, on the 16th of April 
Mr. Gladstone supplemented it by introducing the Irish Land Pur- 
chase Bill, which was intended to come into operation on the same 
day as the Home Rule Bill. The object of the measure was to 
give to all Irish landowners the option of being bought out on the 
terms of the Act ; to give all Irish landowners an opening towards 

the exercise of that option where the rent wm from agricultural 



420 



Third and Fourth Administrations. 



land. But it did not pretend to deal with mansions, demesnes, and 
woods. The State authority was to be the purchaser, and the 
occupier was to become the proprietor. In certain congested dis- 
tricts, however, the State authority Mould also be the proprietor. 

The Premier proposed to fix the nominal purchase-price at 
twenty years' purchase of the net rental, ascertained by deducting 
law charges, bad debts, and cost of management from the judicial 

rent. Where there 
was no judicial ren- 
tal, the Land Court 
could, if it chose, 
make use of Griffith's 
valuation for coming 
to a fair decision. To 
meet the demand for 
the means of pur- 
chase thus estab- 
lished, Mr. Gladstone 
proposed to create 
£50,000,000 Three 
per Cents. The re- 
payment of advances 
would be secured by 
a Receiver -general, 
appointed by and 
acting under British 
authority. 
The Land Purchase 
Bill was also opposed, and it was the final cause which led to Mr. 
Chamberlain's retirement from the Government. The Land scheme 
was not destined to make progress, in consequence of the defeat 
of the Home Rule Bill. The country speedily became agitated on 
the subject of the latter measure, which was energetically supported 
by Mr. John Morley at Glasgow, and by Mr. Gladstone in a letter 
addressed to his Midlothian constituents. 

The second reading of the Irish Home Rule Bill was taken on 
May 10th, when the Premier replied to the criticisms of his oppo- 
nents, and denied that he had ever, at any period of his life, 




Hon. John Morhy. 



Third and Fourth Administrations. 421 

declared Home Rule in Irelaud to be incompatible with Imperial 
unity. He now accepted it as a remedy imperatively necessary for 
the repression of social disorder, and pointed out that while the 
policy of the Opposition was coercion, that of the Government was 
autonomy. " We have before us," he said, " a great opportunity of 
putting an end to the controversy of seven hundred years, ay, and 
of knitting together, by bonds firmer and higher in their character 
than those which heretofore we have mainly used, the hearts and 
affections of this people, and the noble fabric of the British Empire." 

The debate extended over many nights ; and while it was 
in progress, a Bill directed against the carrying of arms in 
Ireland was introduced, and pushed forward rapidly through 
both Houses until it became law. 

The position of Ministers on the Home Rule and Land Bills 
was explained by Mr. Gladstone at a meeting of Liberals, held at 
the Foreign Office on the 27th of May. The Premier stated that 
the Government at present only asked for an endorsement of 
the leading principles of the two measures; and in afterwards 
closing the debate on the second reading of the Home Rule 
Bill in the House of Commons, he made an eloquent appeal 
on behalf of Irelaud. The division, nevertheless, left the Govern- 
ment in a minority of 30, the numbers being — for the meas- 
ure, 313; against, 343. It was found that 93 Liberals had 
voted in the majority. 

Mr. Gladstone now appealed to the country on his Irish 
policy, and on the 14th of June issued his address to the electors of 
Midlothian. He stated that the ministerial plan gave to Ireland, 
under well considered conditions, power to transact her own 
affairs. This would secure a real union, and not a mere paper 
union, between the two countries. The Premier followed up 
his address by a visit to Midlothian and likewise to Glas- 
gow, where he delivered powerful speeches in favor of the 
Government policy. 

On the 25th of June he appeared at Manchester, and was 
the subject of a magnificent and enthusiastic reception at the 
Free Trade Hall. With unusual force and eloquence he in- 
sisted that while Irish nationality might be enlisted in the 
service of law and order with infinite advantage, yet if Eug- 



422 Third and Fourth Administrations. 

land made it an enemy, it would teach her by sorrowful and 
painful lessons, that its claims could not be resisted with im- 
punity. Passing on to Liverpool, he here also pleaded the 
Irish cause, and called upon the people to "riug out the old, 
ring in the new." 

Mr. Bright who had separated from his old colleague and 
leader on the Irish question, addressed his constituents at Birming- 
ham, condemning the Home Rule and Land Purchase Bills, 
and making some observations which Mr. Gladstone felt called 
upon to challenge. In a letter addressed to Mr. Bright, the 
Premier denied having successfully concealed his thoughts on 
the Irish question in the previous November, seeing that he 
had expressly stated that if the Irish elections went as was 
expected, the magnitude of the Irish question would put all 
others into the shade. Mr. Gladstone also pointed out that 
the position in Ireland had wholly changed from what it was 
in 1881, when there was a conspiracy for marching through 
rapine to the disintegration of the United Kingdom. 

The right honorable gentleman also denied that he had en- 
deavored to thrust the details of the Land Purchase Bdl upon his 
colleagues and upon the House of Commons. " If I am a 
man capable of such an intention, I wonder you ever took office 
with one so ignorant of the spirit of the Constitution and so 
arbitrary in its character. Though this appears to be your 
opinion of me, I do not think it is the opinion held by my 
countrymen in general. You quote not a word in support of your 
charge. It is absolutely untrue." Mr. Bright replied, remarking 
that the liberal leader had asked the constituencies to send him a 
majority large enough to make him independent of Mr. Parnell 
and his party, and yet he had since completely surrendered to Mr. 
Parnell. 

Mr. Bright's letter was not a satisfactory answer to the various 
points urged by Mr. Gladstone, but the member for Central Bir- 
mingham added, "Though I thus differ from you at this time and 
on this question, <lo not imagine that I ever cease to admire your 
great qualities, or to value the great services you have rendered to 
your country." 

A correspondence between Mr. Gladstone and Mr. A. J. Bal- 



Third and Fourth Administrations. 



423 



four, published in July, demonstrated that the former had urged 
upon Lord Salisbury the absolute necessity of dealing immediately 
with the Irish qpystion, and expressed a strong hope that the sub- 
ject should not fall into the lines of party conflict. 

The general election of July, 1886, was fought out under cir- 
cumstances of great excitement, and much misrepresentation of the 
Liberal position on the part of Conservative and Liberal Unionist 
candidates. The Liberals were defeated, and the new House of 




Casket Presented to Mr. Gladstone by his Liverpool Constituents. 

Commons was composed as follows: Conservatives, 316; Lib- 
eral Unionists, 78 ; Gladstonian Liberals, 191 ; and Irish Home 
Rulers, 85. 

With such a decided majority against him, Mr. Gladstone 
resigned office, and Lord Salisbury again became Prime Minister. 
Mr. Gladstone congratulated the Government on not announcing a 
policy of Coercion in the House of Commons, and said that with 
every admission that Coercion would not be applied again, he 
believed Home Rule came nearer and nearer. Until law was 
administered in Ireland in an Irish spirit, there would be no 
security for social order in the sister country. 



424 Third and Fourth Administrations. 

Mr. Gladstone left England for a tour in Bavaria in the autumn, 
but before doing so he issued a pamphlet on the Irish question, 
divided into two parts : I. History of an Idea ; and, II. Lessons 
of the Elections. In the former section he traced the several 
stages by which the great question of autonomy for Ireland had 
been brought to a state of ripeness for practical legislation ; and in 
the second part showed that, of the four nationalities in the United 
Kingdom, Scotland approved his Irish policy by three to two, Ire- 
land by four and a half to one, and " gallant Wales " by five to 
one ; whilst England decided against Ireland by returning 336 op- 
ponents to 129 supporters. 

In October Mr. Gladstone received five deputations at Hawarden. 
One of them presented an address from 400,000 women of Ireland, 
while the other four conveyed to him the freedom of four Irish 
cities— Cork, Limerick, Waterford, and Clonmel. The Liberal 
leader expressed his conviction of the success of Home Rule, and 
denied that Ireland wished for separation. 

Much to the surprise of the Liberal party, the Tory Government 
introduced a Crimes Prevention (Ireland) Bill of exceptional 
severity in the session of 1887. It had been understood that there 
was to be no Coercion, and many Conservative members were 
returned on this clear understanding. Moreover, Ireland was far 
freer from ordinary crime than England. The Bill was obviously 
drawn to suppress the free expression of political opinion in 
Ireland, and to destroy the influence of the National League. 

Mr. Gladstone and the great bulk of the Liberal party strongly 
opposed this arbitrary and unnecessary measure, but it was carried 
by the aid of Liberal Dissentient votes. The Act was applied with 
great stringency during the recess, and Mr. O'Brien and other Irish 
members were thrown into prison, but the Coercion Act entirely 
failed to achieve its leading object, namely, the suppression of 
the Land League. 

Irish debates were of frequent occurrence in the House of 
Commons in 1888, but the session was chiefly signalized by the 
passing of the Local Government Act, a measure of a democratic 
character, establishing County Councils throughout the kingdom ; 
and by the appointment of a Commission, consisting of three 
judges, to try the Times'' charges against Mr. Parnell and various 



Third and Fourth Administrations. 425 

other persons. The Commission sat for upwards of fifty days, 
and then passed through a series of sensational and startling 
episodes. The letters alleged to have been written by Mr. Parnell 
implicating him in assassination and crime were confessed to be 
forgeries by an Irish witness named Richard Pigott, and the Times 
abandoned the charges founded upon the letters and made an 
apology to the Irish leader. 

In November, 1888, Mr. Gladstone paid a memorable visit to 
Birmingham. On the 5th he appeared at the Town Hall, which 
was crowded to excess. Replying to an address from the Birming- 
ham Liberal Association, he first paid a touching tribute to John 
Bright, expressing a fervent wish for his restoration to health, and 
then went on to condemn the administration of the Coercion Act, 
dealing also with other public questions. Next day he received a 
deputation from Walsall, assuring them that the Liberal Unionists 
were visibly approaching their doom. It was a question between 
doing justice to Ireland on the one hand in conjunction with the 
Liberal party at large, and on the other of swallowing Toryism 
bodily and wholly. 

In the schoolroom attached to the Church of the Redeemer, 
Edgbaston, Mr. Gladstone received a number of handsome pres- 
ents from the workingmen of Birmingham. He afterwards visited 
the Council House and Art Gallery, and attended the Mayor's 
reception in the evening. On the following morning he accom- 
panied Mrs. Gladstone to Ashfield House, where a medallion cameo 
portrait of the ex-premier was presented to Mrs. Gladstone by the 
Liberal ladies of Birmingham. 

On the evening of the 7th a great demonstration was held in the 
Bingley Hall, a building which in its normal state is capable of 
holding about 20,000 people, but which for this occasion was made 
to hold many more. The meeting was one of the most enthusiastic 
and remarkable in the annals of the Liberal party, upwards of one 
hundred members of Parliament and many other influential per- 
sons supporting the ex-Premier on the platform. The chaii 
was taken by Mr. Osier, President of the Birmingham Liberal 
Association. 

When Mr. Gladstone rose to speak an unparalleled scene of enthu- 
siasm occurred. He was kept standing for some minutes, while 



426 Third and Fourth Administrations. 

volleys of cheering rang through the hall, and handkerchiefs were 
waved by the ladies. When quiet was at length restored, Mr. 
Gladstone at once plunged into the subject of Ireland. He 
impeached the Government as a government of unequal law, as a 
lawless government, a government whose policy and operations the 
Irish people had a right to resent. The right of combination, 
given in England, was withheld in Ireland ; and the right of public* 
meeting was in the hands of the Lord-Lieutenant, whose will wasl 
executed and confirmed by magistrates removable at the will of the 
Executive. Irish members were tried for offences far less serious 
than sedition, and treated as common felons. He believed that the 
world generally, looked upon our treatment of Ireland as dishonor- 
able to England. 

Mr. Gladstone forcibly said — " You are invited to maintain this 
system — and why ? Is it economical ? The waste of Imperial 
treasure under this system is enormous. I ought to know some- 
thing of the finances of the country, and I do not hesitate to say 
that to place the waste of the present system of governing Ireland 
at from three to four millions a year of hard money, is but a 
moderate estimate of the facts. This waste to produce what? Not 
to produce content, but to produce discontent. Does it produce 
Imperial strength ? Suppose we were involved in great difficulties, 
suppose we had — God forbid that Ave should have — a crisis like the 
original American war brought upon us. At this time would Ireland 
add to our strength what she ought to add ? No. We have now 
got Ireland making a thoroughly constitutional demand — demand- 
ing what is in her own language a subordinate Parliament, acknowl- 
edging in the fullest terms the supremacy of the Parliament at 
Westminster. How can you know that under all circumstances 
that moderation of demand will continue?" 

Another scene of intense enthusiasm was witnessed when the 
ex-Premier resumed his seat, after having spoken with great energy 
and clearness of enunciation for a hour and fifty minutes. On the 
8th Mr. Gladstone received a deputation and an address from the 
Irish Nationalists of Birmingham and district. He subsequently 
planted a tree in Sir Walter Foster's garden, and then left for West 
Bromwich on a visit to the Hon. P. Stanhope. Replying to a 
number of addresses presented to him at West Bromwich, he said 



Third and Fourth Administrations* 42? 

the balance at the last election was cast not by the true sense of 
the population considered individually as men, but by plural votes 
given by owners of property, who had already enjoyed occupation 
votes. 

Mr. Gladstone's prediction that the policy of Home Rule would 
make rapid progress was abundantly justified by the course of 
events. A number of Liberal dissentients, like Sir George Tevelyan, 
who had promised to support Home Rule if certain Imperial guar- 
antees were conceded, returned to the Liberal fold on receiving Mr. 
Gladstone's assurances ; but Mr. Chamberlain, who had also asked 
for these safeguards, instead of accepting them as he agreed to do, 
attacked his old leader and his plans Avith a rancor and hostility 
which lost him the esteem of all true Liberals. Wherever the 
country had an opportunity of declaring itself on the burning 
question of the day — from Southampton in the extreme south to 
Govan and East Perthshire in the north — it pronounced an over- 
whelming verdict in favor of Home Rule, and in condemnation of 
the policy of Lord Salisbury's Government. 

In December Mr. Gladstone went to Italy for the benefit of his 
health, making his headquarters at Naples. He was warmly 
greeted by the Italian people, gratitude mingling with their enthu- 
siasm for the important services which the English statesman had 
rendered in the past to the cause of Italian freedom and unity. 
After a sojourn of two months in the south of Europe he returned 
to England much refreshed and invigorated, and ready to take part 
in the labors of a session which promised to be unusually animated 
and eventful. 

On August 4, 1892, Mr. Gladstone, in his eighty-third year, 
began the administration that most statesmen twenty years his 
junior would have hesitated to undertake. 

He was not destined, however, to witness the triumph of his 
ambition to confer home rule upon Ireland. His intellectual vigor 
continued unabated, and on October 24, 1892, he delivered the first 
of the Romanes lectures at Oxford, his subject being " Mediaeval 
Universities," and his welcome at his old university was enthu- 
siastic. He was presented with the freedom of the city of Liverpool 
on December 30th, shortly after paying a visit to Biarritz, where his 
eighty-third year was spent. On April 6th of the following year 




Lord Rosebery — Gladstone's Successor, 



428 



Third and Fourth Administrations. 429 

he moved the second reading of the Home Rule bill in the House 
of Commons, and subsequently superintended the progress of the 
bill with unparalleled vigor and patience. 

During that month a lunatic made an unsuccessful attempt upon 
his life without disturbing his serenity or producing any apparent 
effect upon his nervous system. He delivered a speech at the 
opening of the new Hawarden Institute on May 23d on "Labor 
Representation." He made a trip to Scotlaud in September speak- 
ing at Edinburgh on the relations between Lords and Commons, 
returning to his place in the House of Commons on the reassem- 
bling of Paliament. During the winter recess he spent several 
weeks with his family and a few close personal friends at Biarritz, 
the House meeting in his absence. It was now evident to his 
closest friends that his great work as a statesman was nearly done. 

The Pall Mall Gazette, early in 1894, startled the English public 
by publishing a report that Mr. Gladstone contemplated retiring 
from public life. The report was contradicted for the time, and 
Mr. Gladstone returned to his seat in the House of Commons. 
Before the end of February, however, he, in speaking to the order 
of the day, announced his own retirement and resigned very shortly 
afterward, to be succeeded by Lord Rosebery. It then, for the 
first time, became known to the public that he was losing both 
sight and hearing. 

During May, 1894, a successful operation was performed upon his 
right eye for cataract, but the restoration of his sight did not induce 
him to again enter public life. He shortly after resigned his seat 
in Parliament, and engaged in the formation of a library to be 
bequeathed to the public and in important literary work, including 
a poetical translation of the Odes of Horace. He continued to 
write and lecture in defense of the Christian religion until near the 
close of his remarkable life, and what was probably more convin- 
cing and important — lived the faith he professed. 

His chief public utterances on political subjects after his retire- 
ment from public life consisted of trenchant criticisms upon the 
Salisbury Government for its course in abandoning the Armenian 
Christians to Turkish massacre and spoliation. His closing years 
were spent in such domestic enjoyment as the infirmities of his 
advanced age rendered possible. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS, DOMESTIC RELA- 
TIONS, AND LITERARY CAREER. 

r^^URNING back to the earliest time at which the personal 
& I fc appearance and manner of Mr. Gladstone were of sufficient 
general interest to warrant a description in the journals of 
the day, we find him noticed in Mr. Cornelius Brown's " History of 
Newark." At the date of his first election to Parliament he was 
somewhat robust in appearance, and was considered a handsome 
man, possessing a most intelligent and expressive countenance. He 
made friends, says one who speaks from a personal recollection of 
this contest, by his thoughtful look and attractive bearing. 

A portrait in oils, executed a few years later for the Newark 
Conservative Club, was engraved, though but few copies of the 
engraving exist. At first sight, says one who has seen it, it is 
hardly recognizable as the former appearance of the rugged face 
with whose outlines we are all familiar; the plump face soon 
became thin and furrowed by the cares of state, ami it is only after 
a closer look that we recognize the somewhat prominent nose, the 
intellectual forehead, the anxious eyes, and the earnest expression 
which even then gave promise of his conscientiousness in later 
years. 

It is perhaps significant, in this connection, that these early de- 
scriptions, especially those which are drawn from the newspapers 
of the time, invariably speak of Mr. Gladstone as older than he 
really was at that date. Whether it was his mental or moral char- 
acteristics that gave him the appearance of a longer acquaintance 
with the world, would require the contemporary testimony of an 
eye-witness, and this we do xiot possess. 

Although Mr. Gladstone had impressed all with whom he came 
in contact with the idea that he was a young man of considerable 
ability, his later pre eminence was not universally accorded to him 

by the prophets of the political world j but it can hardly be matter 



Personal Characteristics. 431 

for wonder that those observers who sneered at the pretensions of 
young Disraeli as absurd should be mistaken in his great rival. 
In the work, "The British Senate in 1838," the writer, after speak- 
ing of the great things which Mr. Gladstone's party expects from 
him, and alluding to the successes with which he had already met, 
goes on to say : 

"He is a man of very considerable talent, but has nothing 
approaching to genius. His abilities are much more the result of 
an excellent education, and of mature study, than of any prodigality 
of nature in the distribution of her mental gifts. I have no idea 
that he will ever acquire the reputation of a great statesman. His 
views are not sufficiently profound or enlarged for that; his celeb- 
rity in the House of Commons will chiefly depend on his readiness 
and dexterity as a debater, in conjunction with the excellence of 
his elocution, and the gracefulness of his manner when speaking." 

So much for a general estimate of the man, written at a time 
when he had been long enough in Parliament to afford data for a 
reasonably fair criticism. When the writer leaves prophecy, and 
devotes himself to description, he is more interesting : 

" Mr. Gladstone's appearance and manner are much in his favor. 
He is a fine-looking man. He is about the usual height, and of 
good figure. His countenance is mild and pleasant, and has a 
highly intellectual expression. His eyes are clear and quick. His 
eyebrows are dark and rather prominent. There is not a dandy in 
the House but envies what Truefit would call his fine head of jet- 
black hair. It is always carefully parted from the crown down- 
ward to his brow, where it is tastefully shaded. His features are 
small and regular, and his complexion must be very unworthy 
witness if he does not possess an abundant stock of health. 

u Mr. Gladstone's gesture is varied, but not violent. When he 
rises he generally puts both hands behind his back, and having 
there suffered them to embrace each other for a short time, he un- 
clasps them, and allows them to drop on either side. They are not 
permitted to remain long in that locality before you see them again 
closed together, and hanging down before him. Their re-union is 
not suffered to last for any length of time. Again a separation 
takes place, and now the right hand is seen moving up and down 
before him. Having thus exercised it a little, he thrusts it into the 



432 Personal Characteristics. 

pocket of his coat, and then orders the left hand to follow its exam- 
ple. Having granted them a momentary repose there, they are 
again put into gentle motion, and in a few seconds they are seen 
reposing vis-a-vis on his breast. He moves his face and body from 
one direction to another, not forgetting to bestow a liberal share of 
attention upon his own party. 

"He is always listened to with much attention by the House, and 
appears to be highly respected by men of all parties. He is a man 
of good business habits; of this he furnished abundant proof when 
Under-Secretary for the Colonies, during the short-lived adminis- 
tration of Sir Robert Peel. . . . His style is polished, but has no 
appearance of the effect of previous preparation. 

"He displays considerable acuteness in replying to an opponent; 
he is quick in his perception of anything vulnerable in the speech 
to which he replies, and happy in laying the weak point bare to 
the gaze of the House. He now arid then indulges in sarcasm, 
which is, in most cases, very felicitous. He is plausible even when 
most in error. When it suits himself or his party, he can apply 
himself with the strictest closeness to the real point at issue ; when 
to evade the point is deemed most politic, no man can wander from 
it more widely." 

In the case of an individual so eminent as the " Grand Old 
Man," it is scarcely an idle curiosity which delights in such details. 
It may fairly be claimed that the most determined enemy of per- 
sonal gossip might listen with delight to those trifles which indicate 
the character of the man, and something of the advantages which 
he has enjoyed, or the disadvantages which he has conquered. Of 
the latter there are few or none that beset the life of Mr. Gladstone, 
outside of the difficulties which the constitution of his own mind 
placed in his path. Delaying the consideration of these qualities 
and their results for a moment, we would point out that the ges- 
tures, so fully described in the above extract, are not without 
meaning. 

Young Disraeli, mocked and ridiculed as he was by the House 
of Commons during the very time that Gladstone was winning 
such golden opinions, would never have changed the position of 
his hands so frequently during the course of a speech. These are 
the movements of a man whose earnestness is so great that it 



Personal Characteristics. 433 

makes him distrustful of his own powers ; who feels that the bur- 
den of care may weight him to the ground ; they are the move- 
ments of a man capable of changing his course when his opinions 
have changed, regardless of the sneers which his inconsistency may 
provoke. 

Out of his very conscientiousness arose this inconsistency, as his 
enemies are pleased to call it. In his work, " Mr. Gladstone : a 
Study," Louis J. Jennings has taken some pains to collate all the 
unfavorable criticisms of the eminent Liberal ; three of these are 
applicable to the portion of the subject now under consideration. 
We append them : 

" His conscience is so tender, he will never go straight." Rev. 
Augustus Page Saunders, in 1832 (later, the Dean of Peterborough). 

" I think his intellect can persuade his conscience of anything." 
Dr. Lake, Dean of Durham, in 1860. 

"He can persuade most people of most things; but above all, 
he can persuade himself of anything." Rt. Hon. W. E. Forster, 
in 1883. 

This is the testimony of his enemies ; for although Forster had 
held office under the Liberal Premier, these words were uttered in 
a speech delivered in the House of Commons after his resignation 
from the office of Irish Secretary, while he was smarting under the 
sense of defeat, and the knowledge that his policy in that position 
had been condemned by its results. To these words we add no 
comment ; believing their recognition of his conscientiousness as 
of more import than their insinuated criticisms upon his judgment. 
The one is a fact; the other is a matter of opinion. 

We are prepared to admit, with the author whose description of 
him in his youth has already been quoted, that Mr. Gladstone does 
not possess the highest of all attributes, an absolutely informing 
genius. But if not "born for the universe," he has never narrowed 
his mind to cater to the requirements of any party, or any portion 
of the community; he has never concerned himself with one de- 
partment of public affairs to the exclusion of all others. This 
has been well put by R. H. Hutton, the author of " Sketches in 
Parliament : " 

"He cares even more than trades-unions for the welfare of the 
workingmen ; more than the manufacturers for the interests of 
28 



434 Personal Characteristics. 

capital; more for the cause of retrenchment than the most jealous 
and avowed foes of government expenditure ; more for the spread 
of national education than the advocates of a compulsory national 
education; more for careful constitutional precedent thau the 
Whigs; and more for the spiritual independence of the Church 
than the Tories. He unites cotton with culture, Manchester with 
Oxford, the deep classical joy over the Italian resurrection and 
Greek independence with the deep English interest on the amount 
of the duty on Zante raisins and Italian rags. The great rail- 
way boards and the bishops are about equally interested in Mr. 
Gladstone. Mr. Gladstone's mind mediates between the moral 
and material interests of the age and rests in neither. He moralizes 
finance and commerce, and (if we may be allowed the barbarism) 
institutionalizes ethics and faith." 

Perhaps it is this very appreciation of all interests that has led 
to his defeat and unpopularity at times ; since the attention paid to 
one would often be offensive to the other, each demanding all the 
xid which the statesman had to give to all interests. Thus the rail- 
way boards would he displeased when he neglected them for church 
matters, and the bishops would feel themselves aggrieved when In 
devoted himself to matters of transportation. 

This union of qualities had hardly been fully evidenced at the 
time of which we write ; we have anticipated somewhat our analy- 
sis of his character. Let us proceed to another topic, upon which 
we have already touched. 

In July, 1839, Mr. Gladstone married Miss Catherine Glynne, 
the daughter of Sir Stephen Richard Glynne, of Hawarden Castle, 
Flintshire. The bride was not remarkable for her personal beauty, 
being not very flatteringly described as a tall, long-featured, sedate 
Englishwoman, whose manners were shy to awkwardness. The 
same authority which speaks thus of her personal appearance pays 
ample tribute to her amiability ; and the awkward shyness in the 
presence of others gave place in privacy to the quiet strength which 
has sustained the statesman in many an hour of trial. Her name 
was not unknown, at an early day, as a practical philanthropist' 
and later on she became something of a power in the political world v 
deriving her strength from her intellectual character and her high 
womanly integrity. 



Personal Characteristics. 435 

Seven of her eight children have attained to years of discretion. 
Of the four sons, two have taken part in political life, though they 
are, of course, overshadowed by the greatness of the name which 
they bear ; but they have shown themselves not unworthy of their 
father. One is a man of business, as his grandfather was ; and the 
other is the rector of Hawarden. Two of his daughters are mar- 
ried ; not wisely, according to the voice of the world, which gauges 
wisdom in such matters by the establishment which is secured ; but 
certainly very well, when the character of their husbands is consid- 
ered. Miss Helen Gladstone has made herself a name in educa- 
tional matters, and is at the head of a department of Newnham 
College for Women. 

We see from this that the home which has become so famous, 
belongs not to the master, but to the mistress of the household. Mr. 
Gladstone inherited from his father a considerable fortune, but it 
was not in the enduring form of real estate, and much of it has 
been dissipated by the expenses of traveling, and in the gratification 
of refined tastes. There is considerable disparity in the statements 
which have been made regarding his circumstances in the later years 
of his life, some writers appearing to think that he was on the 
verge of genteel poverty, while others maintained that he was pos- 
sessed of a considerable income. 

His removal from Carlton House Terrace, and the sale of his 
collections of china and articles of virtue have always been regarded 
as evidences that the man who could take such excellent care of the 
nation's finances had sorely neglected his own. However this may 
be, it is certain that his income has never been permanently increased 
by the princely salaries that he has received, while there have been 
many and heavy drains upon it. There was no expense spared in 
the education of his children, as there was none spared in his own, 
and as we have before said, the family has had every wish and 
taste indulged. 

The estate connected with Hawarden Castle consists of about 
seven thousand acres, and is supposed to yield an annual income of 
$90,000, so that there is no danger of coming to real want. The 
house itself is a noble specimen of the " stately homes of England." 
It was built in the year 1752, and its solid masonry may defy the 
ravages of time for centuries to come, The venerable trees sur- 



436 Personal Characteristics. 

rounding it give beauty and grandeur to the scene without dwarf- 
ing the work of man. The granite towers reach skyward so far 
that they can be seen above the intervening screen of trees at Queen's 
Ferry railroad station, a mile and a half away. 

Just across a beautiful ravine, and within the grounds of the 
modern dwelling, is the ancient edifice of which this is the suc- 
cessor. Old Hawarden Castle dates from the eleventh century, 
being one of the earliest of that army of military posts which the 
victorious Normans used as sentinels over the conquered land, and 
within the grim walls of which they were equally ready for ban- 
quets and music or for resistance to the king and oppression of the 
commons. 

It is on an elevation of grounc so steep that it is only with some 
difficulty the modern tourist can reach the base of the building; and 
the military advantages of its natural position have been heightened 
by art. The dungeons have been compared by an irreverent Amer- 
ican newspaper correspondent to an immense brick oven; space does 
not permit us to give a more dignified comparison, or, indeed, to say 
more upon the subject. Let the graphic art be more eloquent than 
words. 

It was in this atmosphere that the career of the great statesman 
was planned ; it was in smoky, busy London that those plans were 
carried out. Here again we see some of the strange contrasts which 
environed the man, and helped to shape the character. 

Having thus dealt with the personal history of his earlier life, 
and described his appearance at that period, we come to a time more 
nearly approaching the present. We have quoted an extended 
description of his appearance and manner in 1838 ; let us listen to 
the comments of H. W. Lucy upon that very passage, premising 
that Mr. Lucy is one of the best authorities upon Gladstoniana : 

" It is curious to note that some of these mannerisms of forty 
years ago [Mr. Lucy wrote in 1878] are preserved by the great 
statesman we know to-day. It is particularly notable that to tin's 
day, when Mr. Gladstone rises and begins what is intended to be a 
great oration, he has a tendency to clasp his hands behind his back. 
This attitude, however, like the subdued mood of which it is the 
indication, prevails only during the opening sentences, Age has 
fired rather than dulled his oratorical energy. 



Personal Characteristics. 43t 

"He has even, during the existence of the present Parliament, 
increased in rapidity of gesture almost to the point of fury. The 
jet-black hair of forty years ago has faded and fallen, leaving only 
a few thin wisps of gray carefully disposed over the grandly-formed 
head with which, as he told a Scotch deputation the other day, 
London hatters have had such trouble. The rounded cheeks are 
sunken, and their bloom has given place to pallor; the full brow is 
wrinkled; the dark eyes, bright and flashing still , are underset with 
innumerable wrinkles; the good figure is somewhat rounded at the 
shoulders ; and the sprightly step is growing deliberate. 

" But the intellectual fire of forty years ago is rather quickened 
than quenched, and the promise of health has been abundantly ful- 
filled in a maintenance of physical strength and activity that seems 
phenomenal. Mr. Gladstone will outsit the youngest member of 
the House if the issue at stake claims his vote in the pending divi- 
sion. He can speak for three hours at a stretch, and he will put 
into the three hours as much mental and physical energy as, 
judiciously distributed, would suffice for the whole debate. His 
magnificent voice is as true in tone and as insensible to fatigue as 
when it was first heard within the walls of the House. 

" By comparison he is far more emphatic when addressing the 
House of Commons than when standing before a public meeting. 
This, doubtless, is explicable by the fact that, while in the one case 
he is free from contradiction, in the other he is, more particularly 
in a period of Tory ascendancy, outrageously subject to it. Trem- 
bling through every nerve with conviction and the wrath of battle, 
he almost literally smites his opponent hip and thigh. Taking the 
brass-bound box upon the table as representative of the right 
honorable gentleman or the noble lord opposite, he will beat it 
violently with his right hand, creating a resounding noise that 
sometimes makes it difficult to catch the words lie desires to 
emphasize. 

" Or, standing with heels closely pressed together and feet spread 
out fanwise, so that he may turn as on a pivot to watch the effect 
of his speech upon either side of the House, he will assume that the 
palm of his left hand is his adversary of the moment, and straight- 
way he beats upon it with his right hand with a ferocity that causes 
to curdle the blood of the occupants of the ladies' gallerv. At this 



438 Personal Characteristics. 

stage will be noted the most marked retention of the early House 
of Commons habit, in the way in which the orator continually turns 
around to address his own followers, to the outraging of the funda- 
mental point of etiquette that all speech should be directed to the 
Chair." 

His manner as an orator brings us to the consideration of his 
qualities as an orator. Our space has noc permitted us to give 
many or long extracts from his spe< ches, but perhaps enough has 
been quoted to show what is his literary style. His enemies find 
fault with it in two respects : ho is too verbose, aud his statements 
are often so indirect as to be ambiguous. As to his verbosity they 
may well complain, for it is the heaping of argument upon argu- 
ment, of epithet upon epithet, of invective upon invective, which 
makes him so terrible a foe. The charge that he can talk a good 
deal without saying anything is perhaps true; but their caviling is 
mere jealousy, for it is often an inestimable power to the minister 
of the Crown who must reply to questions, but is not yet ready to 
announce his policy. 

Mr. Hayward, in his " Critical and Biographical Essays," 
awards the first place among parliamentary debaters to Mr. Glad- 
stone, on the ground that he has made more fine speeches than any 
other orator of the day. " He may lack Mr. Bright's impressive 
diction, impressive by its simplicity, or Mr. Disraeli's humor and 
sarcasm, but he has made ten eminently successful speeches where 
Mr. Bright or Mr. Disraeli has made one." To this dictum Justin 
McCarthy demurs, on the ground that it is not the number of pro- 
ductions, but the merit of the best, that makes a man pre-eminent 
over his fellows. 

" We are not, therefore, inclined to call Mr. Gladstone the 
greatest English orator of our time when we remember some of the 
finest speeches of Mr. Bright ; but did we regard parliamentary 
speaking as a mere instrument of parliamentary business and 
debate, then unquestionably Mr. Gladstone is not only the greatest, 
but by far the greatest, English orator of our time, for he has a 
richer combination of gifts than any other man we can remember, 
and he could use them oftenest with effect. He was like a racer 
which cannot, indeed, always go faster than every rival, but can 
win more races in a year than any other horse. 



Personal Characteristics. 439 

"Mr. Gladstone could get up at any moment, and no matter how 
many times a night, in the House of Commons and be argumenta- 
tive or indignant, pour out a stream of impassioned eloquence or a 
shower of figures, just as the exigency of the debate and the moment 
required. He was not, of course, always equal, but he was always 
eloquent and effective. He seemed as if he could not be anything 
but eloquent. Perhaps, judged in this way, he never had an equal 
in the English Parliament. Probably no one, past or present, had 
in combination so many gifts of voice, manner, fluency, and argu- 
ment, style, reason, and passion, as Mr. Gladstone." 

The style of his speeches is wonderful, when we consider that 
he never writes out a line of them, and that some of his most 
effective orations have been delivered in reply to those which had 
just ended when he rose to his feet. Mr. Bright, on the contrary, 
was in the habit of writing out the peroration of his speeches, and 
not infrequently sent the slip of paper to the reporters, that they 
might be certain to get his words correctly. Mr. Disraeli some- 
times wrote out the whole of a speech which he intended to be 
especially effective ; and on one occasion at least a speech of his 
was in type before it was delivered. 

Mr. Gladstone's eloquence, however, is in a certain sense spon- 
taneous. A notable exainble of this faculty was the speech at the 
close of the debate on the Irish University bill, a rare example of 
close reasoning, brilliant illustration, and powerful eloquence. This 
was begun when Mr. Disraeli sat down, and was for the greatest 
and best part an answer to what the Tory leader had just said. 

We have limited the assertion that Mr. Gladstone's eloquence 
Avas spontaneous. While he never wrote out his speeches, and 
apparently could speak as well without preparation as with it,, he 
was always careful to inform himself fully upon the subject on 
which he intended to speak. Fortified with facts, and if need be 
figures, his command of language was such that he was enabled to 
put these not only into the best form possible, but what was of more 
immediate importance, into the form most acceptable to his headers. 

We have alluded to what is sometimes termed his verbosity. He 
was often diffuse, because of his extreme care to state the case just 
as he saw it, with all the arguments which led him to a given 
determination • but he could be concise if there was a reason for it, 



440 Personal Characteristics. 

Mr. Wemyss Eeid, in his " Cabinet Portraits/' describes a scene 
in which Mr. Gladstone held in check his tendency to extreme 
fluency : 

" He is never seen to so much advantage as when, at the close of 
a long discussion, he rises in the midst of a crowded House, impa- 
tient for a division, to reply to Mr. Disraeli or Mr. Hardy. The 
readiness with which he replies to a speech just delivered is 
amazing. He will take up, one after another, the arguments of 
his opponent, aud examine them and debate them with as mu«fa 
precision and fluency as though he had spent weeks in the prepara- 
tion of his answer. Then, too, at such moments time is precious, 
and he is compelled to repress that tendency to prolixity which is 
one of his greatest faults as an orator. His sentences, instead 
of wandering on interminably, are short and clear, and from 
beginning to end of the speech there is hardly a word which seems 
unnecessary. 

"The excitement, too, which prevails around him always infects 
him strongly • his pale face twitches, his magnificent voice quivers, 
his body sways from side to side as he pours forth argument, plead- 
ing and invective, strangely intermingled. The storm of cheers 
and counter-cheers rages around him, as it can rage nowhere except 
in the House of Commons on such an occasion ; but high and clear 
above the tumult rings out his voice, like the trumpet sounding 
through the din of the battle-field. 

" As he draws to a close something like a calm comes over the 
scene, and upon both sides men listen eagerly to his words, anxious 
to catch each sentence of his peroration, always delivered with an 
artistic care, which only one other member of Parliament can equal, 
and seldom failing to impress the House with its beauty. Then it 
is that his great powers are seen to the best aud fullest advantage,, 
voice and accent and gesture all giving life and force to the words 
which he utters." 

There have been many witty sayings regarding Mr. Gladstone's 
oratory. It was said that he was the only man in the House who 
could talk in italics — a significant saying. It was something like 
the American talent for exaggeration which prompted another 
observer to say that Mr. Gladstone could speak upon a subject 
every night for a week, and then say coolly : " After these 



Personal Characteristics. 441 

few preliminary remarks, I will proceed to the full discussion 
of the subject' Assertions that he never seemed weary must of 
course be limited ; perhaps it would be nearest the truth to 
say that up to the age of seventy-five he was indefatigable as 
a speaker. His voice seemed not to grow weak or husky, what, 
ever the demands that were made upon it, but rang out in all 
its silvery clearness at the close as at the beginning. 

So much for Mr. Gladstone as an orator. As a party leader he 
did not meet with the same unvarying success. The reason of this 
was that he was never able to understand a mind of less power 
than his own. "He is incapable of making any allowances for the 
weaknesses of his fellow-creatures," says the excellent analyst above 
quoted ; "he has great strength of his own ; his soul, when he is 
engaged on any question of importance, is filled with an earnest- 
ness which is almost heroic, and he sees only one road to the 
end at which he aims — the shortest. 

" Under these circumstances he is incapable of understand 
iug how any of his followers, who share his creed, and pro- 
fess to be anxious to reach the same goal as himself, can 
demur to the path he is taking. For their individual crotchets 
he makes no allowances, and he is especially regardless of the 
unwillingness of the English gentleman to be driven in any 
particular direction. It is curious to see as the result of this 
how much needless irritation he succeeds, at times, in causing 
among his followers. Over and over again the Liberal clubs 
have rung with complaints of his 'temper' — it ought rather to 
be temperament — of his want of consideration for the ideas, the 
foibles, the prejudices of the rank and file of his party. 

" The general result is that he makes a bad leader. Indeed, it 
would be safer to say that he does not lead at all, in the 
common sense of the word — others lead for him. Equally certain 
is it that he has a will of enormous strength. Lord Salisbury has 
spoken of it in Parliament as an arrogant will, and it is un- 
doubtedly in the Cabinet a dominant will — that he holds, in 
a very considerable degree, that the end justifies the means, 
and that he is in the heat of debate a victim of an impetu- 
osity which sometimes hurries him into false positions, from 
which he is generally too proud to retreat afterward," 



442 Personal Characteristics. 

The last sentence is hardly just, though we have quoted it 
with the rest. Perhaps it would be nearer the truth to say- 
that when Mr. Gladstone was thus hurried by impetuosity into 
false positions, he has argued the case with himself until he 
has persuaded himself that the position was not a false one. 
Taken in connection with the judgment of the Dean of Peters- 
borough and his brother of Durham, this theory is not untenable. 

As a Parliamentary leader, Mr. Gladstone stands in strong 
contrast to his* great rival, who was never so thoroughly in 
earnest that he forgot to consider the failings of those who were his 
followers, or who might be made so. These failings of the 
great Liberal may be well illustrated by two anecdotes, which 
are told upon good authority. 

One of the Ministers was twitted by some friends with hav- 
ing supported by his vote certain measures to which they had 
supposed he would not consent, as a member of the Cabinet ; 
and it was rather broadly hinted that a Minister who protests 
unavailingly against a policy has always the privilege of re- 
signing. 

"I have not agreed with a single measure that Mr. Glad- 
stone has brought in this session (1882)," he returned somewhat 
indignantly, " but I voted for them all, and I have not felt called 
upon to resign, for I was never consulted about any of them." 

On another occasion, when the division of the Liberal party had 
become a fact, a prominent member of it asked a Gladstonian what 
was done at a considerable meeting of the party. 

" Nothing," was the nonchalant reply. 

" Nothing?" repeated the interrogator; " then what was the use 
of the meeting? " 

u Oh, it put us all in a good humor." 

Mr. Gladstone is full of reminiscences, and thinks that every- 
body's memory ought to be as tenacious as his own. One night 
during his second administration he sat on the Treasury bench 
with only one colleague beside him. He was apparently asleep, 
and the other man thought that he might venture on a doze. But 
presently the Tory who was speaking ventured upon some histori- 
cal statement. Mr. Gladstone was at once on the alert. 

" That is entirely wrong," he said, rousing himself and turning 



Personal Characteristics. 443 

to his colleague. "This fellow is mixing up his facts and his 
dates. Don't you remember so-and-so." 

He proceeded to recall, in all its minuteness, some obscure pas- 
sage of political history, of which the subordinate was obliged to 
confess that he knew nothing. Mr. Gladstone looked at him a 
moment in pitying wonder, and as soon as he dared the hapless 
man slunk away. In the lobby he met a friend to whom he said : 

" I'm going home. I can't stand that fiendish old man any more. 
Why, he actually cross-examined me about something that had 
happened before I was born." 

Having thus briefly reviewed Mr. Gladstone's career as an orator 
and a party leader, we come to the consideration of his work as a 
student and a man of letters. He was distinguished from the very 
first as a hard worker. While at Oxford he was accustomed to 
entertain in no niggardly way ; but when his friends had left him, 
for further pleasures or for rest, he was hard at work once more. It 
was the marvel of all, how he managed to get so much done, without 
devoting himself to study to the exclusion of all besides. 

The secret lay in the system with which he labored. " It mattered 
not where he was, in college rooms or in country mansion, from 
10 a.m. to 2 p. m. no one ever saw William Ewart Gladstone. He 
was locked up with his books. From the age of eighteen to the 
age of twenty-one he never missed these precious four hours except 
when he was traveling. And his ordeal in the evening was not less 
severe; eight o'clock saw him once more engaged in a stiff bout 
with Aristotle, or plunged deep in the text of Thucydides." 

As a reader, he devoted himself to those books which would be 
useful to him ; aud was especially averse to reading a borrowed 
book, since it denies the reader the privilege of making notes upon 
the margin. His immense library at Hawarden has never been 
catalogued, such a thing being unnecessary to a man who could go 
to the shelf and put his hand at once upon the very book he wished. 

Within the walls containing the finest private library in the 
world (for so his book-treasures have been ranked), the thoughtful 
writer did most of his writing. But he never confined his reading 
to the one apartment ; that was done anywhere, in the house or 
out of it; he accustomed himself even to read while strolling along 
the country roads and across the fields ; throughout, his residence 



444 Personal Characteristics. 

at Hawarden became, at an early period, pre-eminently a stu- 
dent's life. 

The productions of this life have their chief interest in their 
authorship ; though they are of no small literary value. His first 
published work was "The State in its Relations with the Church/' 
to which ample reference has already been made. Twenty years 
afterward, or in 1858, he published a work in three volumes, 
entitled " Homer aud the Homeric Age." This has been described 
as a great, but very unequal work; though the same critic says 
that as the work of one of the first of orators and statesmen the 
volumes are altogether wonderful. 

From the overflowings of this vast reservoir of Homeric knowl- 
edge, have been gathered a number of magazine articles, which have 
excited much interest among scholars ; and the earlier important 
work has been followed by two others, involving scarcely less labor 
and thought — Juventus Mundi and Homeric Synchronism; the 
former in 1869, and the latter in 1876. 

During the period that Mr. Gladstoue professed to be in retire- 
ment, though it soon became evident that retirement from political 
life was impossible for him as long as his health, physical and 
mental, permitted him to take part, he chiefly occupied himself with 
controversial writings. To this period we must assign his pamphlet 
on "The Vatican Decrees," and that on " Vaticanism," written in 
reply to those who had answered the first. The essays on Ritualism 
had preceded those upon Catholicism ; and he had not done with 
his criticisms upon Pius IX, before the necessities of the poli f >eal 
situation demanded that he should turn his pen to another use — the 
picturing of the atrocities perpetrated in Bulgaria. 

Mr. Gladstone was long a valued contributor to the Reviews, 
his subjects being drawn from the wide range indicated by the 
varying nature of his published volumes. These minor contribu- 
tions to literature were collected some years since into a series of 
seven volumes, entitled "Gleanings of Past Years." These include 
all of his essays except those of a controversial or political charac- 
ter, as far as then published ; but this is a most important excep- 
tion. His writings on Vaticanism have also been collected and 
published in two volumes. 

Of the "Gleanings of Past Years," perhaps the essay of most 



Personal Characteristics. 445 

interest to us as Americans is that entitled " Kin beyond Sea," 
which originally appeared in the North American Review in 1878. 
Mr. Gladstone was most severely taken to task for this essay, as he 
had declared in it that America would ultimately become " the 
head servant in the great household of the world," and that Eng- 
land would do well to prepare herself in time for the loss of this 
position. 

Mr. Gladstone's style as a writer can hardly be called an attrac- 
tive one ; it " looks fatiguing." But the force of his words is such 
that we are carried along in spite of ourselves ; the untiring energy 
and earnestness of the man become infectious ; and we are hurried 
along on a swift stream of thought, where we had supposed we 
would find it hard work to row. 

In the midst of profound research and scholarly thought, of the 
statesman's anxious cares and the financier's close calculations, the 
great Liberal never shut himself away from his kind. A discern- 
ing writer says of his social qualities : 

" He is as merry as a child when acting host or being a private 
guest. But however gay his talk, there is always a pervading 
dignity in his bearing and language, and no one will ever presume 
to be familiar with him. Lowell says, you remember, that John 
Milton was not a man to be slapped on the back. Neither is 
Gladstone. You may laugh at his jest, and return anecdote for 
anecdote to his gleeful satisfaction. But no man ever saw him out 
of that noble suavity which becomes so well his age, his rank in 
the world of state-craft and of letters, and his achievements in both. 

" His conversational capacity is evidently boundless. Having a 
memory almost phenomenal in range and tenacity, he draws upon it 
as gaily as a vintner upon his cellar; and like wine, the oldest stock 
is often the most delicious. He can summon personal recollections 
of interesting men in all walks of life with spontaneous accuracy ; 
and only those who have heard him at the table, when all political 
care was dismissed for the day, can credit the amazing range of his 
acquaintance with the curious and picturesque life of England 
wholly apart from his politics." 

The same writer says: ' c The untaught rustic winding his long 
whip over a team of oxen down the highway would look with im- 
pulsive pleasure upon a man in his shirt sleeves hacking away at 



446 Personal Characteristics. 

the solid trunk of a giant oak ; but the moment he saw the axeman's 
eyes, the moment the lithe, strong body of the chopper assumed an 
upright pose, even he would pull off his hat and silently acknowl- 
edge the presence of a man of power." 

This, however, is something of an exaggeration ; for it is a well- 
attested fact that Mr. Gladstone once received a practical lesson in 
chopping from a peasant who did not recognize him, and who was 
not at all satisfied with the great man's way of going to work ; nor 
was his ignorance dispelled by his pupil, who humbly received the 
instructions of the man who could do this and nothing else ; and it 
is to be presumed that he profited by the lesson. 

Though Hawarden Castle is by no means easy of access, being 
no little distance from the nearest railway station, the roads to 
which are not always in the best possible condition, it became a 
very Mecca to political pilgrims ; some of them even coming from 
Scotland, as well as points nearer by. Indeed, there seems always 
to have been a sincere admiration in the northern kingdom for this 
sou of her ancient race, who partook of many of the qualities char- 
acteristic of the canny Scot ; to such an extent that even one of the 
Liberal organs once dubbed him " a self-willed old Scotchman." 

A correspondent of the New York Sun thus describes the end of 
one of these pilgrimages in 1887 : 

" Working away in his library, the old man is told that a crowd 
is outside, and would be pleased to see him. He drops his pen or 
book as soon as mental convenience will admit, dons an old hat, 
seeks Mrs. Gladstone, who throws some light wrap over her 
shoulders and a veil of black lace or silk netting over her very 
gray hair, and out they go together like boy and girl. The lawn 
terrace is eight feet higher than the roadway, and is reached by 
wooden steps descending from a narrow platform. Standing on this 
platform, the two Gladstones greet the people, who cheer and cheer 
and wave hats and handkerchiefs and umbrellas. 

"Then, if the old man be hoarse, or not in a mood for talk, 
Mrs. Gladstone, leaning over the edge of the platform, tells the peo- 
ple in a silvery, clear voice that Mr. Gladstone is delighted to see 
them, and is thankful for the cordial feeling which has brought 
them so far, but that, as he is not well, they will kindly excuse him 
from speaking. Cheers are mingled with expressions of sympathy* 



Personal Characteristics. 447 

and, if there be not too many of them, Mrs. Gladstone invites them 
up to the platform, where a patient scene of handshaking is gone 
through, with smiles on the old man's face and happiness shining 
out of his glorious old eyes." 

We have left till the last the consideration of his character from 
the religious point of view. Here it seems that we are indeed 
treading upon holy ground ; his mental characteristics, his physical 
appearance, the actions of his life, the impressions which he has 
made upon the minds of others, his studies, the measures of his Min- 
istry, even his demeanor in society, and his recreations, may fairly 
be deemed public property ; we have intruded slightly upon his 
domestic privacy, and now remains the task of describing the altars 
of the inmost recesses of his spirit. 

The college student was reckoned an " enquirer." That is, he 
was among those thoughtful natures which were not content with 
the Established Church unless acquaintance with others should 
prove that it was the best. It was no blind and unreasoning 
attachment to the Church of his childhood, then, that held Mr. 
Gladstone; it was a deliberate conviction. His Oxford training 
never wholly faded from his mind in this respect, so that he always 
retained a leauing to the High Church party, the bulk of whom 
are Tories. Wisely discarding politics from his mind in this con- 
nection, he held to the course which his conscience approved. 

His life was an exemplification of the belief that Christianity is 
a living, vitalizing force in the individual, and he endeavored prac- 
tically to illustrate its influence. Nor did he hold himself aloof 
from those who were in need of help and advice. Even when 
Prime Minister of England, he has been found in the humblest 
houses, reading to the sick or dying consolatory passages of Scrip- 
ture in his soft, melodious tones. His personal charity became pro- 
verbial among those who knew him best, and his generosity was 
never bounded by pecuniary limits. 

On Sunday morning, as the bells of Hawarden church rang out 
upon the heavy autumn air, vigorous pedestrians might be observed 
marching up the hill, their dusty raiment and shining countenances 
proclaiming that their walk had been a long one. This determin- 
ation toward Hawarden as a place of devotion was not owing to a 
dearth of churches in the neighborhood. There are churches at 



448 Personal Characteristics. 

Mold and elsewhere ; but in none of these were the lessons read in 
the sonorous tones of the ex-Premier of England. 

These church-goers saw a group come in sight from the opposite 
direction ; foremost would be the venerable couple, who had shared 
life for more than fifty years; following them, those of their chil- 
dren who had remained with them, or who had returned home for 
a visit ; with, perhaps, a representative of the rising generation in 
the person of a grandchild. They would pause at the entrance to 
the church, to greet those who had waited for such an opportunity; 
there would, perhaps, be a word or two with the rector, Rev. 
Stephen Gladstone, and then the service would begin. 

More profound than the great Premier's scholarship, more con- 
spicuous than his commanding genius, more controlling than his 
consecration to the welfare of his country, was his life-long devo- 
tion to his sense of religious duty and to the high ideal of Chris- 
tian manhood, which always stood before him like the cross of 
Constantine, painted on the sky, and which allured his gaze and 
inspired his most earnest endeavors. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

ME. GLADSTONE'S DEATH AND OBSEQUIES. 

Mr. Gladstone in the South of France — Return from Cannes — Signs of Growing 
Weakness — Peaceful Death — Universal Demonstrations of Grief — Tele- 
grams of Sympathy — Adjournment of the House of Commons — The 
Queen and Prince of Wales Express Their Sympathy — -Tributes from the 
Newspaper Press— Telegram from the Government of the United Stales- 
Estimate of Mr. Gladstone by Prominent Americans — Lying in State at 
Westminster — Great Throngs of People View the Remains — Kemarkable 
Demonstration at Mr. Gladstone's Funeral — Burial in Westminster Abbey. 



M' 



R. GLADSTONE'S exceptionally strong constitution pre- 
vented any serious illness or any rumor of failure or decay 
until the close of his eighty-eighth year. On November 21 , 
1897, a rumor circulated in London of a sudden breaking up, start- 
lingly reminded the world of the possibility of his removal. Insom- 
mnia was generally stated to be his chief trouble, but the confident 
contradictions from the family allayed the first dread fears. It 
was said at this time his mind was as keen as ever, but that he was 
more feeble on account of his sedentary life. 

Mr. Gladstone started for Cannes in company with Mrs. Glad- 
stone, Miss Gladstone and Mr. Henry Gladstone on November 26, 
breaking the journey at Folkestone and Paris. He felt no ill effects 
from the journey, and it was announced at this time that the neu- 
ralgia with which he had been troubled had diminished. His so- 
journ at Cannes for two months was quiet, and varying reports from 
time to time left the general impression that the aged Premier was 
being benefited. Great was the surprise, therefore, when on Jan- 
uary 20 it was announced that Mr. Gladstone's condition was caus- 
ing grave anxiety, and that his sojourn had not had the desired 
effect. 

The former Premier returned on February 19, and. although 
arrangements were made at Calais for two men to carry him from 
the train to the boat, he insisted on walking the distance of about 
29 449 



450 Mr. Gladstone's Death and Obsequies. 

thirty yards. His changed and tottering appearance was the sub- 
ject of general remark. Arrived at Charing Cross, many of the 
aged Premier's friends awaited him, and he was driven to Carl- 
ton House Terrace, his son's residence. After remaining in Lon- 
don for a few days he was medically advised to go to Bourne- 
mouth, and Lord Vernon placed his beautiful residence at Mr. 
Gladstone's disposal. 

No benefit accrued. On March 6th he stopped all work, and 
his friends read or played to him. He was taken home on March 
20th. Later it was announced that he was about to undergo an 
operation for necrosis of the bone of the nose from which he had 
been suffering. Day by day he got weaker and weaker, and in the 
early part of April took to his bed. At times during the month he 
suffered violent twinges of neuralgic pain, but in the early days of 
May a general renewal of strength, and frequent injections of 
morphine under the tongue relieved him. 

His state during the few days preceding his death was one of 
great weakness, the patient remaining silent in a semi-comatose 
state. From time to time he roused to give his benediction to his 
friends, and the week before he died he bade a pathetic farewell to 
two of his most trusted colleagues and friends — Lord Rosebery 
and Mr. John Morley. 

On May 18th Mr. Gladstone was slowly dying at his castle at 
Hawarden. His physician said in the afternoon, "The end is now 
near. He breathes heavily for a few minutes, and then his breath- 
ing is hardly perceptible. Mrs. Gladstone is with her dying hus- 
band. She and others of the family do not leave the room for 
more than a few minutes at a time." 

Shortly after nine o'clock in the evening he rallied a little and 
slept calmly. It was believed he would pass away during the 
period of rest. At a quarter past eleven o'clock, however, this 
bulletin was issued : " Mr. Gladstone's condition is unchanged. 
The slight rally is maintained and he is sleeping peacefully." He 
was still sleeping at an early hour in the morning, and the family, 
anticipating the end, watched at his bedside. 

His pulse was hardly perceptible at the wrists and his extremi- 
ties were cold. When offered medicine at half-past four o'clock, 
Mr. Gladstone exclaimed : " No, no." Apart from this he seldom 



Ms. Gladstone's Death and Obsequies. 451 

spoke except to commence a prayer. He was practically uncon- 
scious. The attending physician said : " It is a strange fact that 
when addressed in English Mr. Gladstone murmurs a few words 
in French, and sometimes seems to be trying to pray in French. 
He has had very serious attacks of the heart in the last forty-eight 
hours, and there has been an altogether very rapid failure. He 
lies nartially unconscious, is delirious and has what is medically 
called changed stroke in breathing. He is no longer in pain." 

An official bulletin which was issued at five o'clock on the after- 
noon of the 18th, said: "Mr. Gladstone has taken a serious turn 
for the worst. His death may be expected in twenty-four hours." 
All the servants of the household were admitted to the sick room 
late in the evening for a final farewell. They found Mr. Glad- 
stone lying on his right side, in deep sleep, as if dead. Each in 
turn touched his hand and left the room tearfully. 

The deepest manifestations of grief over the death of Mr. Glad- 
stone were reported throughout the country. Flags were every- 
where half masted, the bells were tolled and in the public galleries 
of London the pictures of Mr. Gladstone were draped with crape. 
The Queen and the Prince of Wales received an early intimation 
of the sad news, and immediately sent touching expressions of con 
dolence to the widow. 

Further details from Hawarden Castle of the passing away of 
the great English statesman showed that his end was the most 
peaceful imaginable. There was no sign of pain or distress. Mrs. 
Gladstone clasped her husband's hand and occasionally kissed it, 
while the Rev. Stephen Gladstone read prayers and repeated 
hymns. The only other evidence that Mr. Gladstone realized his 
surroundings was when his son recited the Litany. Then the 
dying man feebly murmured "Amen." This was the last word 
spoken by Mr. Gladstone. 

Very many telegrams of sympathy arrived at Hawarden Castle. 
Among them was one from President Faure expressing his condol- 
ences. Another, from United States Ambassador Hay, addressed 
to the Right Hon. Herbert Gladstone, said : " I beg to present to 
all your family my heartfelt expression of sympathy at your per- 
sonal loss, and at the same time to reverently congratulate you and 
the English race everywhere upon the glorious completion of a life 



452 Mr. Gladstone's Death and Obsequies. 

filled with splendid achievements and consecrated to the noblest 
purposes." 

The House of Commons was crowded during the day following 
Mr. Gladstone's death, and when the Speaker, Mr. William Court 
Gully, called upon the government leader, Mr. A. J. Balfour, the 
First Lord of the Treasury, all present uncovered their heads. Mr. 
Balfour said : " I think it will be felt in all parts of the House 
that we should, by adjourning, do fitting honor to the great man 
whose long and splendid career closed to-day. 

" This is not the occasion for uttering the thoughts which natur- 
ally suggest themselves. That occasion will present itself to-morrow, 
when it will be my duty to submit to the House an address to the 
Queen, praying her to grant the honor of a public funeral, if such 
honor is not inconsistent with the expressed wishes of himself or of 
those who have a right to speak in his behalf, and also praying the 
Queen to direct that a public monument be erected at Westminster 
with an inscription expressive of the public admiration, attachment 
and high sense entertained by the House of Mr. Gladstone's rare 
and splendid gifts and devoted labors in Parliament and in the high 
offices of State. Before actually moving the adjournment I have to 
propose a formal resolution that the House to-morrow resolve itself 
into committee to draw up an address, the contents of which I have 
just indicated." 

After a word of assent from Sir William Vernon Harcourt, the 
liberal leader, the resolution was adopted and the House adjourned. 

All the Continental papers published tributes to Mr. Gladstone. 
The French papers were especially sympathetic, and the Greek 
newspapers expressed their deep gratitude for what Mr. Gladstone 
did for Greece. 

Public opinion in England was profoundly stirred by the death 
of Mr. Gladstone. A member of the Cabinet, in the course of a 
long interview, said : " It is difficult to find words adequate to 
express one's feelings at such an event. The disappearance of such 
a central figure is a tremendous loss. In Parliament and through- 
out the country his influence over our public life was unparalleled." 

All the papers came out with special editions with heavy, black 
borders, announcing the death of Mr. Gladstone. The Daily 
Chronicle headed its editorial with a quotation from Wordsworth: 



Mr. Gladstone's Death and Obsequies. 453 

" This is the happy warrior ; this is he ; 
That every man in arms should wish to be." 

The editorial said : "A glorious light has been extinguished in the 
land. Mr. Gladstone is dead ; and all his life lies in the past, a 
memory to us and our children, an inspiration and possession for- 
ever. The end has come as to a soldier at his post. It found him 
calm, expectant, faithful, unshaken. Death has come robed in the 
terrors of mortal pain ; but what better can be said than that as he 
taught his fellows how to live, so he has taught them how to die ? 
It is impossible at this hour to survey the mighty range of this 
splendid life." 

The Daily News said : " We cannot help dwelling upon the opin- 
ions which Mr. Gladstone held most strongly and the sentiments 
which he felt most deeply, because they are the only key which un- 
locks his character and his life. One of his most characteristic 
qualities was his personal humanity. He was not easy to persuade. 
He paid little attention to other people's opinions when his mind 
was made up. He was quite aware of his own ascendancy in coun- 
sel and his supremacy in debate. On other questions he did, in- 
deed, instruct his own judgment. On politics he did not; but the 
secret of his humility was an abiding sense that these things were 
of no importance compared with the relations between God's crea- 
tures and their Creator." 

The Standard said : " Whether men agreed with him or differed 
from him in matters of party politics, they could not come within 
the range of his influence as an administrator without being pro- 
foundly impressed alike with his extraordinary powers of despatch- 
ing public business most efficiently and his absolute devotion to 
what he believed to be the highest interests of his country." 

The formal sympathy of the United States government was em- 
bodied in the cablegram of the Secretary of State to Ambassador 
Hay, as follows : 

u Through appropriate channels express to Mr. Gladstone's fam- 
ily the sympathy and sorrow of the American people at the passing 
away in the ripeness of years and fulness of honors of one of the 
most notable figures of modern civil statesmanship." 

Cardinal Gibbons spoke as follows concerning the great states- 
man : "Posterity will rank Gladstone among the few great states^ 



454 Mr. Gladstone's Death and Obsequies. 

men of the nineteenth century. Sixty years ago, when he was only 
thirty years of age, Macaulay, in the Edinburgh Review, predkud 
the political eminence which Gladstone would attain. That predic- 
tion has been amply fulfilled. His chief claim to gratitude and 
greatness is found in his advocacy of home rule, because the meas- 
ure was so unpopular with the majority of his countrymen." 

Hon. John Sherman said : " Mr. Gladstone, while living, was 
regarded by the American people as a statesman of the highest 
grade in this century ; honorable in private life, patriotic as an 
Englishman, and just to the people of the many countries with 
whom he had diplomatic relations. I knew him personally, and 
had some correspondence with him. He was, without limitation, a 
pure and honorable man, and his memory should be treasured by 
every Englishman and American." 

Another tribute came from former Senator Edmunds : " Mr. 
Gladstone was a really great man, from the force and independence 
of his own character, rather than from the accident of birth or for- 
tune. Thus fortified, he changed his opinion when he was con- 
vinced, not fearing the temper of critics. His labors have been on 
the whole of great benefit to the cause of free thought and better 
social and political conditions." 

Ex-President Harrison said : " There were but a few men in 
Gladstone's class. He had a rare combination of accomplishments 
— a statesman, an orator and a scholar — and in all three those of 
the first grade. When we add to these the gifts of serene faith, 
the purest home virtues and wide benevolence, we have a man 
whose knighthood is recorded in a choicer list than that of the 
British peerage." 

United States Senator Lodge spoke as follows : " The death of 
Mr. Gladstone takes from the world one of the greatest figures of 
this century. Whether one agreed with him or not, nobody could 
fail to admire the marvellous vitality, the noble eloquence, which 
never failed, the eager sympathy with every oppressed people, the 
fertility and resource in every field of public life, which have for 
so many years engaged the attention of the world, which made Mr. 
Gladstone one of the greatest statesmen of his time, and which 
will cause mourning for his death by all English-speaking people. '' 

Mr, Gladstone's body was removed from Ha warden Castle to 



Mr. Gladstone's Death and Obsequies. 455 

London, where it lay in state in order that the multitude of his 
friends and a*L tirers might pay a last tribute of respect to the 
illustrious dead. Remarkably impressive scenes were witnessed at 
Westminster when the arrivals commenced of those anxious to 
view the remains. The line formed was continually augmented by 
all classes of people, from peers, peeresses, Cabinet Ministers, mem- 
bers of the House of Commons, military and naval officers and 
clergymen to costermongers, old and young, until at six o'clock in 
the morning, when the doors were opened, the procession com- 
menced to stream past the catafalque. 

By ten o'clock it was computed that one hundred persons to the 
minute were passing the body, and at noon over 40,000 people had 
already taken a last glance at the face of the great statesman. Sir 
William Vernon Harcourt, the liberal leader in the House of Com- 
mons, who arrived at noon, was greatly moved, so great was the 
popular demonstration of sorrow. 

As the afternoon advanced the unending stream lengthened. 
About two thousand policemen were engaged in guiding the people, 
and by three o'clock 75,000 persons had passed the coffin. 

On May 28th the body of England's greatest man, William E. 
Gladstone, was laid in the Valhalla of his race. Military pomp 
and the outward trappings of pageantry were absent, but the cere- 
mony was glorified by the homage of his greatest surviving con- 
temporaries and by the sentiment of universal reverence expressed 
in the outspoken gratitude of a free people. His grave is beside 
that of his life-long adversary, Benjamin Disraeli (Lord Beacons- 
field), whose marble effigy looks down upon it, decked with the 
regalia which Gladstone had refused. 

Whatever meagreness in grandeur there was during the lying in 
state there was none about the funeral. In every respect that cere- 
mony was impressive, lofty, dignified. This was fitting to the 
funeral of one who, after all, was essentially civilian. There were 
no nodding plumes, no mighty procession, for the coffin was carried 
on a simple funeral carriage and the distance between Westminster 
Hall and Westminster Abbey in but a few steps. But the people, 
as during the lying in state, were an impressive sight. Every spot 
on which the eye rested swarmed with human beings. They peeped 
at you from the windows of the hospital, from the roofs of houses. 



456 Mr. Gladstone's Death and Obsequies. 

Everybody nearly was dressed in black, and there was the same 
unbroken sombreness in demeanor which has been so characteristic 
of the past few days. The unbroken silence of this vast multitude 
added immensely to one's sense of the magnitude and solemnity of 
the occasion. 

The procession of the members of Parliament formed in the 
House of Commons as early as 9.30 o'clock. The chamber pre- 
sented an appearance at once curious and impressive. There must 
have been four hundred members present, and considering the 
holidays have already begun, this was marvellous. It is said not a 
single Liberal member was absent, except invalids, and Gladstone's 
opponents, the Tories, were also fully represented. The Irish mem- 
bers were some forty strong, a very considerable number, considering 
that it is vacation time and the present conditions of the party. 

Mr. Dillon sat in his usual place, and close beside him were the 
men who are most closely associated with his leadership. Among 
them was Mr. Blake, one of the most impressive figures of the 
day, with his tall stature, clear-cut features and look of distinction. 
None of the Parnellites were present, nor was Mr. Healy. Every- 
body in the House was in the deepest black, and the House looked 
to some extent like a funeral chamber. There was just one bit of 
color. The sergeant-at-arms had around his neck a silver-colored 
tie, with white bows, a curious and an unusual addition to his 
uniform. 

When the Speaker entered there was a surprise in store for the 
House, which saw its sombreness at least broken by a splendid bit 
of color, for the Speaker appeared for the first time in our recollec- 
tion in full, gorgeous robes. He wore a black gown, richly em- 
broidered with gold lace, a garment that seemed at once sternly 
simple and brilliantly rich, and that added greatly to the impres- 
siveness of his handsome face and fine figure. After considerable 
delay the Speaker rose, and at once every member was on his feet, 
and then the sergeant-at-arms, placing his mace on his shoulder, 
with the chaplain and attendants, formed into procession, followed 
by the members present and the late Government and members of 
the Privy Council, a dignity frequently bestowed upon political 
supporters whom the Government find it impossible to otherwise 
reward. 



Mr. Gladstone's Death and Obsequies. 457 

The Irishmen had resolved to walk by themselves, so as to dis- 
tinguish their group from the rest. Mr. Dillon was to give them 
the signal, and just as the other members were leaving the House 
he rose from his place and the Irish members followed his lead. 
The procession slowly wended its way to Westminster Hall, where 
the coffin lay, still giving that impression of smallness, remoteness 
and loneliness in the vast hall. There was a look for a second as 
the members passed the coffin, but no pause, and slowly but regu- 
larly the procession passed on until it got into open air again. 
Then the great majority of the members put on their hats ; but 
some of the Irishmen, and especially those who walked in the first 
four with Mr. Dillon, kept uncovered throughout, as more in 
accord with the sense of pathos and the solemnity of the occasion 
Some few of the English members did the same thing. 

The crowd pressed close to see the procession as it passed, but 
whatever he felt, the Londoner held his tongue. The same 
impressive, solemn, unbroken silence continued as the procession 
wound its way onward. 

The procession moved in the following order : 

Four heralds in court dress bearing the arms. 

The Speaker, the Right Hon. William Court Gully ; clerks and 
officers of the House of Commons, in robes and wigs, carrying the 
mace. 

Four hundred members of the House of Commons, marching 
four abreast and wearing frock coats and high hats, with the solitary 
and conspicuous exception of John Burns, the labor leader, who 
wore his usual derby hat and short coat. 

Four heralds escorting half a dozen privy councillors, not mem- 
bers of Parliament. 

More heralds ushering the officers of the House of Lords. 

The Lord Chancellors in their robes, with a mace bearer. 

Two hundred members of the House of Lords, attired like the 
members of the House of Commons, with the exception of the 
bishops, who wore robes. 

Then came a group of members of Mr. Gladstone's last Ministry, 
followed by representatives of various royal families and the foreign 
Ambassadors, including Colonel John Hay, the IJnited States 
Ambassador, 



458 Mr. Gladstone's Death and Obsequies. 

Next the Duke of Cambridge and the Duke of Connaught, 
escorted by equerries, and the Earl of Pembroke, representing the 
Queen. 

Then came the funeral car, plainly draped with black and drawn 
by two horses, preceded by the Earl Marshal of the Kingdom, the 
Duke of Norfolk, the supporters of the pall walking beside the 
car. 

After the car walked Stephen Gladstone, the chief mourner, and 
the near relatives and friends. 

The only sound that broke the silence while the cortege passed 
was a broken voice which shouted : " God give ye rest, old man !" 
In the meanwhile the tolling of the Abbey bell had notified the 
waiting assemblage within the edifice that the procession was 
approaching. 

Mrs. Gladstone, supported on the arms of her sons, Herbert 
and Stephen, and other members of the family were grouped about 
the grave. The dean read the appointed sentence committing the 
body to the earth, and the Archbishop of Canterbury pronounced 
the benediction. 

Mrs. Gladstone stood bravely, with great composure, throughout 
the service. Her face was lifted upward and her lips were moving 
as though repeating the lines of the service. She also kept stand- 
ing during the only official feature of the service, "The Procla- 
mation by Gartar of the Style of the Deceased," as the official pro- 
gramme had it. The Gartar enumerated the various offices which 
Mr. Gladstone had held in his lifetime, beginning with " Some- 
time Privy Councillor " and ending " Envoy Extraordinary to the 
Ionian Islands." 

The organ then played the " Dead March" in "Saul." Finally 
the Prince of Wales, the Duke of York and other pall-bearers 
shook hands with Mrs. Gladstone, the mourners defiled past the 
grave, taking a last view of the coffin, and, when they had been 
escorted down the nave to the entrance, the people slowly departed 
Memorial services in honor of Mr. Gladstone were held all over 
England. 

The ceremony in the case of the House of Lords was practically 
the same. The Lord Chancellor, who is the Speaker of that 
assembly, unlike the Speaker of the House of Commons, was not 



Mr. Gladstone's Death and Obsequies. 459 

in full dress. He wore his great wig, and the sergeant-at-arms 
carried the brazen mace, the emblem of royal authority; and there 
was the usual retinue of pursebearer and trainbearer, and other 
officials that form his little court. 

The attendance of peers was on as great a scale as that of the 
Commoners. This was wonderful testimony to the universality of 
grief over Mr. Gladstone's death, as he was not a favorite with that 
body, and his very last speech in the House of Commons was de- 
livered in opposition to their claims. The pall-bearers, who walked 
on each side of the coffin, were perhaps the personages who 
attracted the most attention during the day. 

The sight of the Prince of Wales and his son and heir doing 
honor to the leader of the great popular Liberal forces was suffi- 
cient to excite comment and curiosity, but, in addition, the leaders 
of the Tory party, in both houses of Parliament, were joined in 
the same homage. Lord Salisbury was a picturesque figure in his 
way — massive in height, still more massive in weight and heavily 
stooped, he added to the impressiveness of his massiveness and to 
the curiousness of his appearance by wearing a small black-velvet 
skullcap. 

A country with such a vast system of class distinction and old 
institutions as England cannot be without picturesqueness or differ- 
ence or color on ever so studiously simple an occasion as this. 
Several times the eye was caught by the sight of a beautiful patch 
of color; choir-boys dressed in scarlet tunics, gorgeous footmen 
with powdered hair and other indications of this land of opulence, 
magnificence and caste ; but the prevalent color was sombre. 

The abbey was filled in most parts, though there was no over- 
crowding, aud there was something almost oppressive in those tre- 
mendous rows of women all dressed in the same deep universal 
black — black gowns, black jackets, black hats, black feathers, black 
gloves. There was something almost like relief in the white sur- 
plices of the ecclesiastics. Through the dim-lighted nave the dif- 
ferent processions took their slow, solemn way. 

In due order the two houses of Parliament faced each other in 
the galleries erected for the occasion, and in the space left between 
them was the open grave in the floor of the Abbey, waiting to 
receive its illustrious occupant. There was something that resembled 



460 Mr. Gladstone's Death and Obsequies. 

a great theatrical performance in this arrangement of the two houses 
and the spectators in their long tiers of galleries around the grave. 
But the sombreness of colors, the dim light that came in through 
the windows and the hosts of ecclesiastics soon banished this idea, 
and the whole ceremonial was solemn, beautiful. In the centre of 
each gallery was a presiding officer with the mace beside him. Each 
speaker seemed to be a sort of core to the galleries, its central most 
prominent figure. Down below one caught a sight of the pall- 
bearers as they stood around the small and simple coffin. 

Looking a little closer you saw a number of people that you 
began slowly to recognize as members of the bereaved family. 
There was a thrill and a hush, though no spoken exclamation as 
the devoted wife walked to her place, leaning on the arms of her 
two sons — one, Stephen, the rector of his ancestral home, Hawarden ; 
the other, Henry, an East Indian merchant. 

Behind them came Herbert Gladstone, the only son who has 
adopted a political career, and in his charge were a number of 
young people, boys and girls, who looked sweet and touching in 
their mourning, and with the innocent interest in all that was 
going on. 

The choir of Westminster Abbey is fine at any time, but for this 
occasion special arrangement had been made, and there was a 
recruiting of the best voices from several other choirs of the metro- 
polis. The result was to win general praise for the beauty, har- 
mony and perfection of the music. The selection of hymns for the 
occasion was according to the tastes of the Grand Old Man himself. 
It is known that Newman's hymn, " Praise to Holiest in the 
Highest," was his favorite, and this hymn found a prominent place 
in the music of the day. " Rock of Ages" was also one of Glad- 
stone's favorites, so much so that he made a Latin translation 
of it which was printed in the programme beside the English 
words. 

The musical selections were typical of all such ceremonies, that 
is to say, there was a mixture of inevitable sadness, death and 
parting, of the joy founded on hopes of a blessed immortality. At 
one time the music fell to a low, solemn, tender whisper; then again 
you heard the trombones resound through the vast building, giving 
a sense of joy and exaltation, of final victory over death and corrup- 



Mr. Gladstone's Death and Obsequies. 461 

tion that had a most startling and at the same time most thrilling 
effect upon the imagination. 

There was no sermon. It would have been too small in the 
great proportions of the ceremony and surroundings. The great 
Epistle of St. Paul with its final pean of victory over death was 
read; but the voice of the reader was partially lost in the vast space 
and those always impressive words sounded almost weak and intru- 
sive. When the lesson had been read and the last hymn, " Oh, 
God ! Our Help in Ages Past," had been sung, the Archbishop of 
Canterbury, in his loud, almost harsh, voice, pronounced the final 
benediction. 

The " Dead March " from " Saul " and the " Messe Solennelle " 
of Schubert were played as the congregation slowly wended its 
way out. The crowds were there, and the sunshine and the 
already impatient throb of the great metropolis, to resume its fev- 
erish, hurried life ; and so the great Legislature, in which Glad- 
stone had reigned as a foremost figure for nearly sixty years, paid 
its last farewell. 

The pathos of Mr. Gladstone's funeral centered around the grief- 
stricken figure of his aged and devoted wife. The shock of his 
death lightened for a time at least the clouds that had begun to 
darken her mind, and spared her the pain of realizing her beloved 
husband's sufferings. 

A moment of sublime emotion, bringing tears to all eyes in that 
unique gathering of princes, divines and statesmen gathered round 
the grave of England's greatest citizen, was when the widow sup- 
ported lovingly by her two weeping sons, tottered feebly, her frame 
shaken with heart-broken sobs, to the brink of the grave, and cast 
a long, lingering look of anguish at the casket containing the 
mortal remains of her illustrious husband. 

When the stricken woman turned away and sank back into her 
chair, the Prince of Wales, inspired by one of those touches of fine 
feeling which account so largely for his popularity, took Mrs. 
Gladstone's hand in his, and, with a whispered word of consola- 
tion, kissed it reverently. The other pall-bearers all followed this 
manly example, providing a spontaneous demonstration of sym- 
pathy more affecting than any state pageant ever devised. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

MR. GLADSTONE ON THE ARMENIAN QUESTION. 

Not a Party Question — The Kesolutions — Dreadful Words to Speak — Witnesses 
to the Massacres —Report of Dr. Dillon — Plunder, Murder, Rape, and 
Torture — Responsibility of the Turkish Government- -The Turk Ought to 
March Out of Armenia — What is to Become of Christians in the Turkish 
Empire ? — Sad and Terrible Story. 

IT will interest the reader to peruse some of Mr. Gladstone's 
famous speeches in the exact form in which they were deliv- 
ered. We have therefore made selections from his addresses 
which not only embrace the most important subjects and such as 
occupied public thought and attention at the time, but have also 
endeavored to make such selections as will show the variety of 
topics which he discussed and the masterly manner in which he 
treated them. 

A meeting was held in the Town Hall, Chester, England, on the 
6th of August, 1895, for the purpose of discussing the claims of the 
Armenians in Turkey. The assembly room at the Town Hall was 
crowded to excess, and many thousands of persons had to be refused 
admission. 

The Duke of Westminster presided, and among those present 
were a great number of members of Parliament. 

Mr. Gladstone, who was received with prolonged cheers, said : — 
My Lord Duke, my Lords, and Ladies and Gentlemen, — My first 
observation shall be a repetition of what has already been said by 
the noble Duke, who has assured you that this meeting is not a 
meeting called in the interests of any party (hear, hear), or having 
the smallest connection with those differences of opinion which 
naturally and warrantably in this free country will spring up in a 
complex state of affairs, dividing us on certain questions man from 
man. (Hear, hear.) 

But, my Lord Duke, it is satisfactory to observe that freedom of 
opinion and even these divisions themselves upon certain questions 
give increased weight and augmented emphasis to the concurrence 
462 



Mr. Gladstone on the Armenian Question. 463 

of the people to the cordial agreement of the whole nation in these 
matters where the broad principles of common humanity and com- 
mon justice prevail. (Cheers.) 

It is perfectly true that the Government whose deeds we have 
to impeach is a Mahometan Government, and it is perfectly true 
that the sufferers under those outrages, under those afflictions, are 
Christian sufferers. The Mahometan subjects of Turkey suffer a 
great deal, but what they suffer is only in the way of the ordinary 
excesses and defects of an intolerably bad Government — perhaps 
the worst on the face of the earth. (Hear, hear.) That which we 
have now to do is, I am sorry to say, the opening up of an entirely 
new chapter. It is not a question of indifferent laws indifferently 
enforced. It is not a question of administrative violence and ad- 
ministrative abuse. It cuts further and goes to the root of all that 
concerns human life in its elementary conditions. 

But this I will say, that if, instead of dealing with the Turkish 
Government, and impeaching it for its misdeeds towards Chris- 
tian subjects, we were dealing with a Christian Government that 
was capable of similar misdeeds towards Mahometan subjects, our 
indignation ought to be not less, but greater, than it is now. 
(Cheers.) Well, I will take the liberty of reading a resolution 
which has been placed in my hands, and which seems to me to ex- 
press with firmness, but with moderation, the opinions which I am 
very confident this meeting will entertain, and this meeting, in en- 
tertaining such opinions, is but the representative of the country at 
large. (Cheers.) 

Allow me to go further and to say that the country at large in 
entertaining these ideas is only a representative of civilized hu- 
manity, and I will presume to speak on the ground, in part, of 
personal knowledge ; I will presume to speak of the opinions and 
sympathies that are entertained in that part which is most remote 
from Armenia — I mean among our own Transatlantic brethren of 
the United States. If possible, the sentiment in America enter- 
tained on the subject of these recent occurrences is even more vivid 
and even stronger, if it can be, than that which beats in the hearts 
of the people of this country. 

The terms of the resolution are as follows : 

" That this meeting expresses its conviction that her Majesty's 



464 Mr. Gladstone on the Armenian Question. 

Government will have the cordial support of the entire nation, 
without distinction of party, in any measures which it may adopt 
for securing to the people of Turkish Armenia such reforms in the 
administration of that province as shall provide effective guarantees 
for the safety of life, honor, religion, and property, and that no 
reforms can be effective which are not placed under the continuous 
control of the Great Powers of Europe." (Cheers.) 

That means, without doubt, the great Powers of Europe, all who 
choose to combine, and those great Powers which happily have com- 
bined and have already, iu my judgment, pledged their honor, as 
well as their power, to the attainment of the object we have in 
view. (Cheers.) 

Now, it was my fate, I think some six or more months ago, to 
address a very limited number, not a public assembly, but a limited 
number of Armenian gentlemen, and gentlemen interested in 
Armenia, on this subject ; and at that time I ventured to point out 
that one of our duties was to avoid premature judgments. 

There was no authoritative and impartial declaration before the 
world at that period on the subject of what is known as the Sassoun 
massacre; that massacre to which the noble duke has alluded, and 
with respect to which, horrible as that massacre was, one of the 
most important witnesses in this case declares that it is thrown into 
the shade, and has become pale and ineffective by the side of the 
unspeakable horrors which are being enacted from month to month, 
from week to week, and day to day, in the different provinces of 
Armenia. (Cheers.) 

It was a duty to avoid premature judgment, and I think it was 
avoided. There was a great reserve ; but at last the engine of dis- 
passionate inquiry was brought to bear, and then it was found that 
another duty, very important in general in these cases, really in 
this particular instance had no particular place at all, and though it 
is a duty to avoid exaggeration — a most sacred duty — it is a duty 
that has little or no place in the case before us, because it is too 
well known that the powers of language hardly suffice to describe 
what has been and is being done, and that exaggeration, if we were 
ever so much disposed to it, is in such a case really beyond our 
power. (Cheers. ) 

Those are dreadful words to speak. It is a painful office to per- 



Mr, Gladstone on the Armenian Question. 465 

form, and nothing but a strong sense of duty could gather us 
together between these walls or could induce a man of my age, and 
a man who is not wholly without other difficulties to contend with 
to resign for the moment that repose and quietude which are the 
last of many great earthly blessings remaining to him, in order to 
invite you to enter into a consideration of this questson — I will not 
say in order to invite you to allow yourselves to be flooded with 
the sickening details that it involves. 

I shall not attempt to lead you into that dreadful field, but I 
make this appeal to you. I do hope that every one of you will for 
himself and herself endeavor, in such a degree as your position may 
allow of you, to endeavor to acquire some acquaintance with them 
(hear, hear), because I know that, when I say that a case of this 
kind puts exaggeration out of the question, I am making a very 
broad assertion, which would in most cases be violent, which would 
in all ordinary cases be unwarrantable. 

But those who will go through the process I have described, or 
even a limited portion of the process, will find that the words are 
not too strong for the occasion. (Cheers.) What witnesses ought 
we to call before us ? I should be disposed to say that it matters 
very little what witnesses you call. So far as the character of the 
testimony you will receive is concerned, the witnesses are all agreed. 
At the time that I have just spoken of, six or eight months ago, 
they were private witnesses. 

Since that time, although we have not seen the detailed docu- 
ments of public authority, yet we know that all the broader state- 
ments which had been made up to that time and which have made 
the blood of this nation run cold have been confirmed and verified. 
They have not been overstated, not withdrawn, not qualified, not 
reduced, but confirmed in all their breadth, in all their horrible 
substance, in all their sickening details. (Hear, hear.) 

And here I may say that it is not merely European witnesses 
with whom we have to deal. We have American witnesses also 
in the field, and the testimony of the American witnesses is the 
same as that of the European ; but it is of still greater importance 
and for this reason — that everybody knows that America has no 
separate or sinister political interest of any kind in the affairs of the 
Levant. 

30 



466 Mr. Gladstone on the Armenian Question. 

She comes into court perfectly honest and perfectly unsuspected, 
and that which she says possesses on that account a double weight. 
I will not refer to the witnesses in particular, as I have been told 
you will receive a statement by my reverend friend, Canon McColl, 
who is one of them (cheers) ; but I believe they are absolutely 
agreed, that there is no shade of difference prevailing among 
them. 

I will refer to the last of these witnesses, one whom I must say 
I am disposed to name with honor : it is Dr. Dillon (cheers), whose 
name has appeared within the last three or four days at the foot of 
an article of unusual length — All ! and good were the reasons for 
extending it to an unusual length — in the Contemporary Review. 
(Cheers.) Perhaps you will ask, as I asked, u Who is Dr. Dillon?" 
and I am able to describe him to his honor. 

Dr. Dillon is a man who, as the special commissioner of the Daily 
Telegraph newspaper, some months ago, with care and labor, and 
with the hazard of his life (hear, hear), went into Turkey, laudably 
making use of a disguise for the purpose, and went into Armenia, 
so that he might make himself thoroughly master of the facts. 
(Cheers.) He published his results before any public authority had 
given utterance to its judgments, and those results which he, I rather 
think, was the first to give to the world in a connected shape — at 
any rate he was very early in the field — those results have been 
completely confirmed and established by the inquiries of the dele- 
gates appointed by the three Powers — England, France and Russia. 
(Cheers.) 

I say he has, at the risk of his life, acquired a title to be believed, 
and here he gives us an account which bears upon it all the marks 
of truth, but which, at the same time that we must believe it to be 
true, you would say is hardly credible. Unhappily some of those 
matters which are not credible do, in this strange and wayward 
world of ours, turn out to be true ; and here it is hardly credible 
that there can dwell in the human form a spirit of such intense 
and diabolical wickedness as is unhappily displayed in some of the 
narratives Dr. Dillon has laid before the world. 

I shall not quote from them in detail, though I mean to make 
a single citation, which will be a citation, if I may say so, rather 
of principle than of detail. I shall not quote the details, but J 



Mr. Gladstone on the Armenian Question. 467 

will say to you that when you begin to read them you will see the 
truth of what I just now said — namely, that we are not dealing at 
all with a common and ordinary question of abuses of government 
or the defects of them. We are dealing with something that goes 
far deeper, far wider, and that imposes upon us and upon you far 
heavier obligations. 

The whole substance of this remarkable article — and it agrees, 
as I have said, with the testimony of the other witnesses — I am 
quoting it because it is the latest — the whole substance of this 
article may be summed up in four awful words — plunder, murder, 
rape and torture. (" Shame.") Every incident turns upon one or 
upon several of those awful words. Plunder and murder you 
would think are bad enough, but plunder and murder are almost 
venial by the side of the work of the ravisher and the work of the 
torturer, as it is described in those pages, and as it is now fully 
and authentically known to be going on. 

I will keep my word, and I will not be tempted by — what shall 
I say ? — the dramatic interest attached to such exaggeration of 
human action as we find here to travel into the details of the facts. 
They are fitter for private perusal than they are for public discus- 
sion. I will not be tempted to travel into them; I will ask you 
for a moment, any of } r ou who have not yourselves verified the 
particulars of the case, to credit me with speaking the truth, until 
I go on to consider who are the doers of these deeds. 

In all ordinary cases, when we have before us instances of crime, 
perhaps of very horrible crime — for example, there is a sad story 
in the papers to-day of a massacre in a portion of China — we at 
once assume that in all countries, unfortunately, there are male- 
factors, there are plunderers whose deeds we are going to consider. 

Here, my Lord Duke, it is nothing of the kind ; we have nothing 
to do here with what are called the dangerous classes of the com- 
munity ; it is not their proceedings which you are asked to con- 
sider ; it is the proceedings of the Government of Constantinople 
and its agents. (Cheers.) 

There is not one of these misdeeds for which the Government of 
Constantinople is not morally responsible. (Cheers.) Now, who 
are these agents? Let me tell you very briefly. They fall into 
three classes. The first have been mentioned by the noble duke — 



468 Mr. Gladstone on the Armenian Question. 

namely, the savage Kurds, who are, unhappily, the neighbors of 
the Armenians, the Armenians being the representatives of one of 
the oldest civilized Christian races, and being, beyond all doubt, 
one of the most pacific, one of the most industrious, and one of the 
most intelligent races in the world. (Cheers.) 

These Kurds are by them ; they are wild, savage clans. There 
was but one word, my Lord Duke, in your address that I should 
have been disposed to literally criticise, and it was the expression 
that fell from you that the Sultan had " organized " these Kurds. 
They are, in my belief, in no sense organized — that is to say, there 
is no more organization among them than is to be found, say, in a 
band of robbers; they have no other organization, being nothing 
but a band of robbers. (Cheers.) 

These the Sultan and the Government at Constantinople have 
enrolled, though in a nominal fashion, not without military disci- 
pline, into pretended cavalry regiments and then set them loose 
with the authority of soldiers of the Sultan to harry and destroy 
the people of Armenia. (Cheers.) Well, these Kurds are the first 
of the agents in this horrible business; the next are the Turkish 
soldiers, who are in no sense behind the Kurds in their perform- 
ances ; the third are the peace officers, the police and the tax- 
gatherers of the Turkish Government ; and there seems to be a 
deadly competition among all these classes which shall most prove 
itself an adept in the horrible and infernal work that is before them, 
but above them all and more guilty than they, are the higher officers 
of the Turkish Government. 

You will find, if you look into this paper of Dr. Dillon's, that at 
every point he has exposed himself to confutation if what he says 
is inaccurate or untrue. He gives names, titles, places, dates, every 
particular which would enable the Turkish Government to track 
him out and detect him and hold him up to public reprobation. 

You will never hear of an answer from the Turkish Government 
to that article. That may be a bold thing for me to say ; but I am 
confident you will never hear an answer from them which shall 
follow these statements of Dr. Dillon's, based on his own personal 
experience, through the details, and attempt to shake the fabric of 
previously composed materials which he has built up in the face of 
the world ! 



Mr. Gladstone on the Armenian Question. 469 

I think there are certain matters, such as those which have been 
discussed to-day and discussed in many other forms, on which it is 
perfectly possible to make up our minds. And what I should say 
is, that the whole position may be summed up in three brief propo- 
sitions. I do not know to which of these propositions to assign the 
less or the greater importance. It appears to me that they are 
probably each and every one of them absolutely indispensable. The 
first proposition is this, You ought to moderate your demands. 

You ought to ask for nothing but that which is strictly necessary, 
and that possibly according to all that we know of the proposals 
before, the rule has been rigidly complied with. I do not hesitate 
to say, ladies and gentlemen, that the cleanest and clearest method 
of dealing with this subject, if we should have done it, would have 
been to tell the Turk to march out of Armenia. (Loud cheers.) 
He has no right to remain there, and it would have been an excel- 
lent settlement of the question. 

But it is by no means certain that Europe or even the three 
Powers would have been unanimous in seeking after that end. 
Therefore, let us part with everything except what is known to be 
indispensable. Then I come to the other two rules, and of these the 
first is that you should accept no Turkish promises. (Hear, hear.) 
They are absolutely and entirely worthless. They are worse than 
worthless, because they may serve to delude a few persons, who 
without information or experience, naturally would suppose, when 
promises are given, that there is something like an intention of ful- 
fillment. Recollect that no scheme is worth having unless it be 
supported by efficient guarantees entirely outside the promises of 
the Turkish Government. (Applause.) 

There is another word which I must speak, and that is this : 
Don't be too much afraid if you hear introduced into this discussion 
a word that I admit, in ordinary cases, ought to be excluded from 
all diplomatic proceedings, namely, the word coercion. Coercion is 
a word perfectly well understood in Constantinople, and it is a word 
highly appreciated in Constantinople. It is a drastic dose — (laugh- 
ter) — which never fails of its aim when it is administered in that 
quarter. (Laughter.) 

Gentlemen, I would not use these words if I had not myself 
personally had large and close experience of the proceedings of the 



470 Mr. Gladstone on the Armenian Question. 

Turkish Government. I say, first make your case good, and when 
your case is made good, determine that it shall prevail. (Cheers.) 
Grammar has something to do with this case. Recollect that while 
the word "ought" sounded in Constantinople, passes in thin air, 
and has no force or solidity whatever attaching to it ; on the con- 
trary, the brother or sister monosyllable, the word "must" is 
perfectly understood — (cheers) — and it is a known fact supported 
by positive experience, which can be verified upon the map of 
Europe, that a timely and judicious use of this word never fails in 
its effect. (Cheers.) 

Gentlemen, I must point out to you that we have reached a very 
critical position, indeed. How are three great Governments in 
Europe, ruling a population of more than two hundred million 
souls, with perhaps eight or ten times the population of Turkey, 
with twenty times the wealth of Turkey, with fifty times the influ- 
ence and power of Turkey, who have committed themselves in this 
matter before the world, I put it to you that if they recede before 
an irrational resistance — and remember that I have in the first 
instance postulated that our demands should be reasonable — if they 
recede before the irrational resistance of the Sultan and the Otto- 
man Government, they are disgraced in the face of the world. 

Every motive of duty coincides with every motive of self-respect, 
and, my Lord Duke, you yourself let drop a word which is unhap- 
pily not wholly out of place, and that word is extermination. 

There has gone abroad — I don't say that I feel myself competent 
to judge the matter, I don't think I do, but there has gone abroad, 
and there is widely entertained a belief, that the recent proceedings 
of the Turkish Government in Armenia particularly, but not in 
Armenia exclusively, are founded upon deliberate determination to 
exterminate the Christians in that Empire. I hope it is not true, 
but at the same time I must say that there are evidences tending to 
support it — (hear, hear) — and the grand evidence which tends to 
support it is this: the perfect infatuation of the Turkish Govern- 
ment. Now, in my time there have been periods when Turkey 
was ruled by men of honesty and ability. 

I will say that, until about thirty years ago, you conld trust the 
word of the Turkish Government as well as any Government in 
Europe; you might not approve of their proceedings, but you 



Mr. Cfladstone on the Armenian Question. 471 

could trust their word ; but a kiud of judicial infatuation appears 
to have come down upon them. What has happened in Turkey? 
To hear of this vaunting on the part of its Government, and this 
game of brag that is from time to time being played, that it cannot 
compromise its dignity, it cannot waive any of its rights. 

What would come of its rights in one-third part of its empire? 
Within my lifetime Turkey has been reduced by one-third part of 
her territory, and sixteen or eighteen millions of people, inhabiting 
some of the most beautiful and formerly most famous countries in 
the world, who were under the Ottoman rule, are now as free as we 
are. (Cheers.) 

The Ottoman Government are as well aware of that as we, and 
yet we find it pursuing these insane courses. On the other hand, 
my Lord Duke most judiciously referred to the plan of Government 
that was introduced in the Lebanon about 1861, whereby a reason- 
able share of stability to local institutions and popular control has 
been given in Turkey, and the results have been most satisfactory. 

There is also a part of the country, although not a very large 
part, where something like local self-government is permitted, and 
it has been very hopeful in its character. But when we see these 
things — on the one hand that these experiments, in a sense of 
justice, have all succeeded, and that when adapted to the Greeks 
and the Bulgarians, and four or five other States, have resulted in 
the loss of those States, then I say that the Turkish Government is 
evidently in such a state of infatuation that it is fain to believe it 
may, under certain circumstances, be infatuated enough to scheme 
the extermination of the Christian population. 

Well, this a sad and terrible story, and I have been a very long 
time in telling it, but a very small part of it ; but I hope that, 
having heard the terms of the resolution that Mali be submitted to 
you, you will agree that a case is made out. (Cheers.) I for one, 
for the sake of avoiding other complications, would rejoice if the 
Government of Turkey would come to its senses. If only men 
like Friad Pacha and Ali Pacha, who were in the Government 
of Turkey after the Crimean War, could be raised from the dead 
and could inspire the Turkish policy with their spirit and with 
their principles ! 

That is, in my opinion, what we ought all to desire, and though 



472 Mr. G-ladstone on the Armenian Question. 

it would be more agreeable to clear Turkey than to find her guilty 
of these terrible charges, yet, if we have the smallest regard to 
humanity, if we are sensible at all of what is due to our own honor, 
after the steps which have been taken within the last twelve or 
eighteen months, we must interfere. We must be careful to 
demand no more than what is just — but at least as much as is 
necessary — and we must be determined that, with the help of God, 
that which is necessary and that which is just shall be done, 
whether there will be a response or whether there be none. (Loud 
cheers.) 



CHAPTER XIX. 

GLADSTONE ON THE BEAOONSFIELD MINISTRY. * 

Dissolution of Parliament — Reply to Opponents — A Serious Position — Policy of 
the Government— Responsible for Other Countries — Turkey a Scandal to 
the World - Derby and Beaconsfield — Turkey Encouraged to Go to War — 
Treaties With European Nations — Policy of Austria— Worshippers of 
Success— Treatment of the Sultan— Tory Government to be Tried by its 
Principles. 

S*\ ENTLEMEN— When I last had the honor of addressing 
l©> you in this Hall, I endeavored, in some degree, to open the 
^"^ great case which I was in hopes would, in conformity with 
what I may call constitutional usage, then have been brought at 
once before you. The arguments which we made for a dissolution 
were received with the usual contempt, and the Parliament was 
summoned to attempt, for the first time in our history, the regular 
business of a seventh session. I am not going now to argue on the 
propriety of this course, because, meeting you here in the capital 
of the county and of Scotland, I am anxious to go straight to the 
very heart of the matter, and, amidst the crowd of topics that rush 
upon the mind, to touch upon some of those which you will judge 
to be most closely and most intimately connected with the true 
merits of the great issue that is before us. 

At last the dissolution has come, and I postpone the considera- 
tion of the question why it has come, the question how it has come, 
on which there are many things to be said. It has come, and you 
are about to give your votes upon an occasion which, allow me to 
tell you, entails not only upon me, but upon you, a responsibility 
greater than you ever had to undergo. I believe that I have the 

* Previous to the date of this address Mr. Gladstone had addressed the electors 
of Midlothian on three great occasions. He now opened his famous Midlothian 
Campaign in earnest, taking the Government to task with such tremendous 
energy as to force his convictions upon the people. The place of meeting on 
this occasion was the Music Hall, Edinburgh, Mr. Duncan McLaren, M. P rj 
presiding. 

473 



474 Gladstone on the Beaconsfield Ministry. 

honor of addressing a mixed meeting, a meeting principally and 
very largely composed of freeholders of the county, but in which 
warm and decided friends are freely mingled with those who have 
not declared in our favor, or even with those who may intend to 
vote against us. 

Now, Gentlemen, let me say a word in the first place to those 
whom I must for the moment call opponents. I am not going to 
address them in the language of flattery. I am not going to sup- 
plicate them for the conferring of a favor. I am not going to 
appeal to them on any secondary or any social ground. I am 
going to speak to them as Scotchmen and as citizens ; I am going 
to speak to them of the duty that they owe to the Empire at this 
moment ; I am going to speak to them of the condition of the 
Empire, of the strength of the Empire, and of the honor of the 
Empire ; and it is upon these issues that I respectfully ask for 
their support. 

I am glad that, notwithstanding my Scotch blood, and notwith- 
standing the association of my father and my grandfather with this 
country, it is open to our opponents, if they like, to describe me as 
a stranger ; because I am free to admit that I stand here in conse- 
quence of an invitation, and in consequence of treatment the most 
generous and the most gratifying that ever was accorded to man. 
And I venture to assure every one of my opponents, that if I beg 
respectfully to have some credit for upright motives, that credit I 
at once accord to them. 

I know very well they are not accustomed to hear it given me; 
I know very well that in the newspapers which they read they will 
find that violent passion, that outrageous hatred, that sordid greed 
for office, are the motives, and the only motives, by which I am 
governed. Many of these papers constitute, in some sense, their 
daily food ; but I have such faith in their intelligence, and in the 
healthiness of their constitution as Scotchmen, that I believe that 
many of them will, by the inherent vigor of that constitution, 
correct and neutralize the poison thus administered; will consent 
to meet me upon equal grounds, and will listen to the appeal which 
I make. 

The appeal which I make to them is this : If my position here 
is a serious one, their position is serious, too. My allegations have" 



Gladstone on the Beaconsjield Ministry. 475 

been before you for a length of time. I will not now again read 
to a Midlothian audience the letter in which I first accepted this 
candidature. By every word of that letter I abide; in support of 
every allegation which that letter contains, I am ready to bring 
detailed and conclusive proof. These allegations — I say to you, 
Gentlemen, to that portion of my audience — these allegations are 
of the most serious character. I admit, as freely as you can urge 
that if they be unfounded, then my responsibility — nay, my culpa- 
bility — before my country cannot be exaggerated. 

But, on the other hand, if these allegations be true — if it be true 
that the resources of Great Britain have been misused; if it be true 
that the international law of Europe has been broken ; if it be true 
that the law of this country has been broken ; if it be true that the 
good name of this land has been tarnished and defaced; if it be 
true that its condition has been needlessly aggravated by measures 
both useless, and wanton, and mischievous in themselves — then 
your responsibility is as great as mine. For I fully admit that in 
1874 you incurred no great or special responsibility. 

You were tired of the Liberal Government ; you were dissatis- 
fied with them. [Cries of " No, no ! "] Oh, I beg pardon ; I am 
addressing my opponents. Scotchmen, I believe, as much as 
Englishmen, like plain speaking, and I hope I have given you 
some proof that if that be your taste I endeavor to meet it as well 
as I can ; and I thank you heartily for the manner in which, by 
your kindly attention, you have enabled me to say what I think is 
the truth, whether it be palatable or whether it be not. 

Now the great question which we have been debating for the last 
three or four years — for I do not carry back the pith of what I 
have principally to say to the six years of the Government — is the 
question of the policy which has been pursued during that time; 
most especially by far the policy of the last two years, and the 
effect of that policy upon the condition of the country, upon the 
legislation of the country, upon the strength of the Empire, and, 
above all, upon the honor of the Empire. I am now going to com- 
pare the conduct of the present Government, which is commended 
to you as masterly in forethought and sagacity, and truly English 
in spirit — I am going to compare it with the conduct of the last 
Government, and to lay before you the proceedings of the results. 



476 Gladstone on the Beaeonsfield Ministry. 

It so happens that their histories are a not inconvenient means of 
comparison. 

England, as you are aware, has been involved in many guaran- 
tees. I said England — do not be shocked ; it is the shortest word 
— Great Britain or the United Kingdom is what one ought to say 
The United Kingdom — the British Empire has been and is in~ 
volved in many guarantees for the condition of other countries. 
Among others, we were involved, especially since the Peace of 
Paris, but also before the Peace of Paris, in a guarantee for Turkey, 
aiming to maintain its integrity and its independence; and we were 
involved in another guarantee for Belgium, aiming to maintain its 
integrity and its independence. In the time of the present Govern, 
ment the integrity and the independence of Turkey were menaced — 
menaced by the consequences of rank, festering corruption from 
within. 

In the time of the late Government the integrity and independ- 
ence of Belgium were not less seriously menaced. We had been 
living in perfect harmony and friendship with two great Militarv 
States of Europe — with Prussia and with France. France and 
Prussia came into conflict, and at the moment of their coming into 
conflict a document was revealed to us which the Ministers of those 
two States had had in their hands. Whoever was its author, who- 
ever was its promoter, that is no affair of mine — it is due to Prince 
Bismarck to say that he was the person who brought it to light — 
but they had in their hands an instrument of a formal character, 
touching a subject that was considered and entertained. And that 
bad instrument was an instrument for the destruction of the free- 
dom, independence and integrity of Belgium. Could there be a 
graver danger to Europe than that ? 

Here was a State — not like Turkey, the scandal of the world, and 
the danger of the world from misgovernment, and from the horri- 
ble degradation it inflicted upon its subject races — but a country 
which was a marvel to all Europe for the peaceful exercise of the 
rights of freedom, and for progress in all the arts and all pursuits 
that tend to make mankind good and happy. And this country, 
having nothing but its weakness that could be urged against it, 
with its four or five millions of people, was deliberately pointed out 
by somebody and indicated to be destroyed, to be offered up as a 



(xladstone on the Ileaconsfield Ministry. 47 "t 

sacrifice to territorial lust by one or other of those Ministers of 
Powers with whom we were living in close friendship and affection. 

We felt called upon to enlist ourselves on the part of the British 
nation as advocates and as champions of the integrity and inde- 
pendence of Belgium. And if we had gone to war, we should have 
gone to war for freedom, we should have gone to war for public 
right, we should have gone to war to save human happiness from 
being invaded by tyrannous and lawless power. This is what I 
call a good cause, Gentlemen. And though I detest war, and there 
are no epithets too strong, if you could supply me with them, that 
I will not endeavor to heap upon its head — in such a war as that, 
while the breath in my body is continued to me, I am ready to en- 
gage. I am ready to support it, I am ready to give all the help 
and aid I can to those who carry this country into it. 

Well, Gentlemen, pledged to support the integrity and independ- 
ence of Belgium, what did we do ? We proposed to Prussia to 
enter into a new and solemn Treaty with us to resist the French 
Empire, if the French Empire attempted to violate the sanctity 
of freedom in Belgium ; and we proposed to France to enter into 
a similar Treaty with us to pursue exactly the same measures 
against Prussia, if Prussia should make the like nefarious attempt. 
And we undertook that, in concert with the one, or in concert 
with the other, whichever the case might be, we would pledge 
all the resources of this Empire, and carry it into war, for the 
purpose of resisting mischief and maintaining the principles of 
European law and peace. 

I ask you whether it is not ridiculous to apply the doctrine or 
the imputation, if it be an imputation, that we belong to the "Man- 
chester School," or to a Peace Party — we who made these engage- 
ments to go to war with France if necessary, or to go to war with 
Prussia, if necessary, for the sake of the independence of Belgium ? 
But now I want you to observe the upshot. I must say that, in 
one respect, we were very inferior to the present Government — 
very inferior indeed. Our ciphers, our figures, were perfectly con- 
temptible. We took nothing except two millions of money. 

We knew perfectly well that what was required was an indica- 
tion, and that that indication would be quite intelligible when it 
was read in the light of the new treaty engagement which we were 



478 Gladstone on the Beaconsfield Ministry. 

contracting ; and consequently we asked Parliament to give us two 
millions of money for the sake of somewhat enlarging the numbers 
of available soldiers, and we were quite prepared to meet that con- 
tingency had it arrived. The great man who directs the Councils 
of the German Empire (Bismarck) acted with his usual prompti- 
tude. Our proposal went to him by telegraph, and he answered by 
telegraph, "Yes," the same afternoon. We were not quite so 
fortunate with France, for at that time the Councils of France 
were under the domination of some evil genius which it is difficult 
to trace, and needless to attempt to trace. 

There was some delay in France — a little unnecessary haggling 
— but after two or three days France also came into this engage- 
ment, and from that moment the peace of Belgium was perfectly 
secured. When we had our integrity and our independence to 
protect, we took the measures which we believed to be necessary 
and sufficient for that protection ; and in every year since those 
measures, Belgium, not unharmed only, but strengthened by having 
been carried safely and unhurt through a terrible danger, has pur- 
sued her peaceful career, rising continually in her prosperity and 
happiness, and still holding out an example before all Europe to 
teach the nations how to live. 

Well, Gentlemen, as that occasion came to us with respect to Bel- 
gium, so it came to our successors with respect to Turkey. How 
did they manage it? They thought themselves bound to maintain 
the integrity and independence of Turkey, and they were undoubt- 
edly bound conditionally to maintain it. I am not now going into 
the question of right, but into the question of the adaptation of the 
means to an end. These are the gentlemen who are set before you 
as the people whose continuance in office it is necessary to maintain 
to attract the confidence of Europe; these are the gentlemen whom 
patriotic associations laud to the skies as if they had a monopoly of 
human irtelligence ; these are the gentlemen who bring you " Peace 
with Honor;" these are the gentlemen who go in special trains to 
attend august assemblies, and receive the compliments of august 
statesmen ; these are the gentlemen who for all these years have 
been calling upon you to pay any number of millions that might 
be required as a very cheap and insignificant consideration for the 
immense advantages that you derive from their administration. 



Gladstone on the Beaconsjield Ministry. 479 

Therefore I want you to know, and I have shown you, how we 
set about to maintain integrity and independence, and how it was 
maintained then. I ask how they have set about it. But, Gentle- 
men, on their own showing, they have done wrong. We have it 
out of their own mouths. I won't go to Lord Derby ; I will go 
to the only man whose authority is higher for this purpose than 
Lord Derby's, namely, Lord Beaconsfield. He tells you plainly 
that what the Government ought to have done was to have said to 
Russia, " You shall not invade Turkey." 

Gentlemen, that course is intelligible. It is a guilty course, in 
my opinion, to have taken up arms for maintaining the integrity of 
Turkey against her subject races, or to take up arms against what 
the Emperor of Russia believed to be a great honor to humanity in 
going to apply a remedy to these mischiefs. But Lord Beacons- 
field has confessed in a public speech that the proper course for the 
Government to have taken was to have planted their foot, and to 
have said to the Emperor of Russia : " Cross not the Danube ; if 
you cross the Dauube, expect to confront the power of England on 
the southern shore." Now, Gentlemen, that course is intelligible, 
perfectly intelligible ; and if you are prepared for the responsibility 
of maintaining such an integrity, and such an independence, irre- 
spectively of other considerations against the Christian races in 
Turkey, that was the course for you to pursue. 

It was not pursued, because the agitation, which is called the 
Bulgarian agitation, was too inconvenient to allow the Government 
to pursue it, because they saw that if they did that which Lord 
Beaconsfield now tells us it would have been right to do, the senti- 
ment of the country would not have permitted them to continue to 
hold their office ; and hence came that vacillation, hence came that 
ineptitude of policy which they now endeavor to cover by hector- 
ing and by boasting, and which, within the last year or two, they 
have striven, and not quite unsuccessfully, to hide from the eyes of 
many by carrying measures of violence into other lands, if not 
against Russia, if not against the strong, yet against the weak, and 
endeavoring to attract to themselves the credit and glory of main- 
taining the power and influence of England. 

Well, Gentlemen, they were to maintain the integrity and inde- 
pendence of Turkey. How did they set about it ? They were not 



480 Gladstone on the Beaconsfield Ministry. 

satisfied with asking for our humble two millions; they asked for 
i-ix millions. What did they do, first of all? First of all they 
encouraged Turkey to go to war. They did not counsel Turkey's 
submission to superior force; they neither would advise her to sub- 
mit, nor would they assist her to resist. They were the great causes 
of her plunging into that deplorable and ruinous war, from the 
consequences of which, her Majasty's speech states this year, Turkey 
has not yet recovered, and there is not the smallest appearance of 
hope that she will ever recover. 

But afterwards, and when the war had taken place, they came 
and asked you for a vote of six millions. What did they do with 
the six millions? They flourished it in the face of the world. 
What did they gain for Turkey? In the first place, they sent a 
fleet to the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus. Are you aware that in 
sending that fleet they broke the law of Europe? They applied for 
a firman to the Sultan. The Sultan refused, and they had no right 
to send that fleet. But, however that may be, what was the use of 
sending that fleet ? The consequence was that the Russian army, 
which had been at a considerable distance from Constantinople 
marched close up to Constantinople. 

Is it possible to conceive an idea more absurd than that which 1 
really believe was entertained by many of our friends — I do not say 
our friends in Midlothian, but in places where the intelligence is 
high— that the presence of certain British ironclads in the Sea of 
Marmora prevented the victorious Russian armies from entering 
Constantinople? What could these ironclads do? They could 
have battered down Constantinople, no doubt ; but what consola- 
tion would that have been to Turkey, or how would it have pre- 
vented Russian armies from entering? That part of the pretext set 
is too thin and threadbare to require any confutation. But they 
may say that that vote of six millions was an indication of the 
intention of England to act in case of need ; and when it was first 
proposed, it was to strengthen the hands of England at the 
Congress. 

But did it strengthen the hands of England ; and if so, to what 
purpose was that strength used ? The Treaty of San Stefano had 
been signed between Russia and Turkey ; the Treaty of Berlin was 
substituted for it. What the grand difference between the Treaty 



Gladstone on the Beaconsfield Ministry. 481 

or Berlin and the Treaty of San Stefano? There was a portion of 
Bessarabia which down to the time of the Treaty of Berlin, enjoyed 
free institutions, and by the Treaty of Berlin, and mainly through 
the agency of the British Government, which had pledged itself 
beforehand by what is called the Salisbury-Schouvaloff Memoran- 
dum, to support Russia in her demand for that territory, if Russia 
adhered to that demand, England, with the vote of six millions 
given to strengthen her influence, made herself specially responsible 
for handing back that territory, which enjoyed free institutions, to 
be governed despotically by the Russian Empire. 

That is the first purpose for which, as I have shown you, your 
vote of six millions was available. What was the second ? It was 
to draw a line along the Balkan Mountains, by means of which 
Northern Bulgaria was separated from Southern Bulgaria, and 
Southern Bulgaria was re-named Eastern Roumelia. 

The Sultan has not marched, and cannot march, a man into 
Eastern Roumelia. If he did, the consequences would be that the 
whole of that population, who are determined to fight for their 
rights, would rise against him and his troops, and would be 
supported by other forces that could be drawn to it under the 
resistless influences of sympathy with freedom. You may remember 
that three or four years ago utter scorn was poured upon what was 
called the " bag-and-baggage policy." Are you aware that that 
policy is at this moment the basis upon which are regulated the 
whole of the civil state of things in Bulgaria and Eastern Rou- 
melia ? What that policy asked was that every Turkish authority 
should be marched out of Bulgaria, and every Turkish authority 
has gone out of Bulgaria. 

There is not a Turk at this moment who, as a Turk, holds office 
under the Sultan either in Bulgaria or in Southern Bulgaria, which 
is called Eastern Roumelia — no, not one. The despised " bag-and- 
baggage policy " is at this moment the law of Europe, and that is 
the result of it; and it is for that, Gentlemen, that the humble 
individual who stands before you was held up and reviled as a 
visionary enthusiast and a verbose — I forget what — rhetoricians 
although I believe myself there was not much verbosity in tha*" 
particular phrase. It appeared to me the people of England 
understood it pretty well — nay, more, the Congress of Berlin 
31 



482 Gladstone on the Beaconsjield Ministry. 

seemed to have understood it, and the state of things which I 
recommended was irresistible, and now, I thank God, is irre- 
versibly established in those once unhappy provinces. 

Gentlemen, we have got one more thing to do in regard to these 
provinces, and that is this — I urged it at the same time when I 
produced this monstrous conception of the " bag-and-baggage 
policy " — it is this, to take great care that the majority of the in- 
habitants of these provinces, who are Christians, do not oppress 
either the Mohammedans, or the Jewish, or any other minority. 
That is a sacred duty ; I don't believe it to be a difficult duty ; it is 
a sacred duty. I stated to you just now that there was not a Turk 
holding office, as a Turk, in these provinces. 

I believe there are Turks holding office — and I rejoice to hear it 
— holding office through the free suffrage of their countrymen, and 
by degrees I hope that they, when they are once rid of all the pesti- 
lent and poisonous associations, and the recollections of the old 
ascendancy, will become good and peaceful citizens like other 
people. I believe the people of Turkey have in them many fine 
qualities, whatever the Governors may be, capable under proper 
education, Gentlemen, of bringing them to a state of capacity and 
competency for every civil duty. 

Gentlemen, it still remains for me to ask you how this great and 
powerful Government has performed its duty of maintaining the 
integrity and independence of Turkey. It has had great and extra- 
ordinary advantages. It has had the advantage of disciplined 
support from its majority in the House of Commons. Though I 
am not making any complaint, as my friend in the Chair knows, it 
was not exactly the same as happened in the days of recent Liberal 
Governments. It had had unflinching and incessant support from 
the large majority of the Lords. 

That was very far from being our case in our day. There is no- 
reason why I should not say so. I say freely — it is an historical 
fact — that the House of Lords, when the people's representatives 
are backed by a strong national feeling, when it would be danger- 
ous to oppose, confront, or resist, then the House of Lords pass our 
measures. So they passed the Disestablishment of the Irish 
Church, and so they passed the Irish Land Act; and I have no 
doubt that, if it pleases the Almighty, they wxtl pass many more 
good measures. 



Gladstone on the Beaconsfield Ministry. 483 

But the moment the people go to sleep — and they cannot be 
always awake — when public opinion flags and ceases to take a 
strong and decided interest in public questions, that moment the 
majority of the House of Lords grows. They mangle, they post- 
pone, they reject the good measures that go up to them. 

I will show you another advantage which the present Adminis- 
tration possesses. They are supported by several foreign Govern- 
ments. Did you read in the London papers within the last few 
weeks an account of the energetic support they derived from the 
Emperor of Austria ? Did you see that the Emperor of Austria 
sent for the British Ambassador, Sir Henry Elliot, and told him 
that a pestilent person, a certain individual named Mr. Gladstone, 
was a man who did not approve the foreign policy of Austria, and 
how anxious he was — so the Emperor of Austria was pleased com- 
placently to say — for the guidance of the British people and of the 
electors of Midlothian — how anxious he was that you should, all 
of you, give your votes in a way to maintain the Ministry of Lord 
Beaconsfield ? Well, Gentlemen, if you approve the foreign policy 
of Austria, the foreign policy that Austria has usually pursued, I 
advise you to do that very thing ; if you want to have an Austrian 
foreign policy dominant in the Councils of this country, give your 
votes as the Emperor of Austria recommends. 

What has that foreign policy of Austria been? I do not say 
that Austria is incurable. I hope it will yet be cured, because it 
has got better institutions at home, and I heartily wish it well if it 
makes honest attempts to confront its difficulties. Yet I must look 
to what that policy has been. Austria has ever been the unflinch- 
ing foe of freedom in every country of Europe. Austria trampled 
under foot, Austria resisted the unitv of Germany. 

Russia, I am sorry to say, has been the foe of freedom, too ; but 
in Russia there is an exception — Russia has been the friend of 
Slavonic freedom ; but Austria has never been the friend even of 
Slavonic freedom. Austria did all she could to prevent the creation 
of Belgium. Austria never lifted a finger for the regeneration and 
constitution of Greece. There is not an instance — there is not a 
spot upon the whole map where you can lay your finger and say, 
" There Austria did good." I speak of its general policy; I speak 
of its general tendency. I do not abandon the hope of improve- 



484 Gladstone on the Beaconsfield Ministry. 

merit in the future, but we must look to the past and to the present 
for the guidance of our judgments at this moment. 

And in the Congress of Berlin Austria resisted the extension of 
freedom, and did not promote it; and therefore, I say, if you want 
the spirit of Austria to inspire the Councils of this country, in 
Heaven's name take the Emperor's counsel ; and I advise you to 
lift the Austrian flag when you go about your purposes of canvass 
or of public meetings. It will best express the purpose you have 
in view, and I, for one, cannot complain of your consistency, what- 
ever, in that case, I might think of the tendency of your views in 
respect of principle, of justice, of the happiness of mankind, or of 
the greatness, the dignity, and the honor of this great Empire. 

But, Gentlemen, still one word more, because I have not spoken 
of what has been the upshot of all this. There are a great many 
persons in this country, I am afraid, as well as in other countries, 
who are what is called Worshippers of Success, and at the time of 
the famous " Peace with Honor " demonstration there was a very 
great appearance of success. I was not myself at that time par- 
ticularly safe when I walked in the streets of London. I have 
walked with my wife from my own house, I have walked owing 
my protection to the police ; but that was the time, Gentlemen, 
when all those curious methods of maintaining British honor and 
British dignity were supposed to have been wonderfully successful. 

And now I want to ask you, as I have shown the way we went 
about maintaining the independence and integrity of Belgium — 
what has become of the independence and integrity of Turkey ? 
I have shown that they neither knew in the first instance the ends 
towards which they should first have directed their efforts, nor, 
when they have chosen ends, have they been able rationally to 
adapt their means to the attainment of those ends. I am not 
speaking of the moral character of the means, but how they are 
adapted to the end. And what did the vote of six millions achieve 
for Turkey? I will tell you what it achieved. It did achieve one 
result, and I want you well to consider whether you are satisfied 
with it or not, especially those of you who are Conservatives. It 
undoubtedly cut down largely the division of Bulgaria, established 
by the Treaty of San Stefano. 

Now, I am not going to maintain that that division was a right 



Gladstone on the Beaconsfield Ministry. 485 

one, for that depends on a knowledge more minute than I possess ; 
but the effect of it was to cut it down, as is perfectly well known — 
that is, put back under the direct rule of the Sultan of Turkey, 
and in the exact condition in which all European Turkey, except 
the Principalities, had been before the war, the population inhabit- 
ing the country of Macedonia, and about a million of people, the 
vast majority of them Christians. 

Two substantive and definite results, the two most definite 
results, produced were these — first of all, that Bessarabia, that had 
been a country with free institutions, was handed back to despot- 
ism ; and secondly, a million and a half of people inhabiting Mace- 
donia, to whom free institutions had been promised by the Treaty 
of San Stefano, are now again placed under the Turkish Pashas 
and have not received one grain of benefit of importance as com- 
pared with their condition before the war. 

But how as regards Turkey ? I have shown results bad enough 
in regard to freedom. What did the British Plenipotentiaries say 
at Berlin ? They said that some people seemed to suppose we 
had come to cut and carve Turkey. That is quite a mistake, said 
the Plenipotentiaries ; we have come to consolidate Turkey. Some 
of the scribes of the Foreign Office coined a new word, and said it 
was to " rejuvenate " Turkey. 

How did they rejuvenate this unfortunate Empire, this misera- 
ble Empire, this unhappy Government which they have lured into 
war and allowed and encouraged to pass into war because they 
allowed their Ambassadors at Constantinople, Sir Henry Elliot 
and Sir Austen Layard, to whisper into the ear of the Turk that 
British interests would compel us to interfere and help her? What 
has been the result to Turkey ? Now, I will say, much as the 
Christian populations have the right to complain, the Sultan of 
Turkey has a right to complain very little less. How has the 
Sultan been treated ? We condescended to obtain from him the 
island of Cyprus, at a time when Austria was pulling at him on 
one side and freedom on the other. We condescended to take from 
him that miserable paltry share of the spoil. 

That is not all. What is the condition of Turkey in Europe? 
It is neither integrity nor iudepep^nce. The Sultan is liable to 
interference at any moment, at every point of his territory from 



486 Gladstone on the Beaconsfield Ministry. 

every one that signed the Treaty of Berlin. He has lost ten 
millions of subjects altogether, ten millions more are in some kind 
of dependence or other — in a condition that the Saltan does 
not know whether they will be his subjects to-morrow or the next 
day. Albania is possessed by a League. Macedonia, as you read 
in the papers, is traversed by brigands. Thessaly and Epirus, 
according to the Treaty of Berlin, should be given to Greece. 

The treasury of Turkey is perfectly empty, disturbances have 
spread through Turkey in Asia, and the condition of that Govern- 
ment, whose integrity and independence you were told that " Peace 
with Honor" had secured, is more miserable than at any previous 
period of its history ; and wise and merciful indeed would be the 
man that would devise some method of improving it. 

To those gentlemen who talk of the great vigor and determina- 
tion and success of the Tory Government, I ask you to compare the 
case of Belgium and Turkey. Try them by principles, or try them 
by results, I care not which, we knew what we were about and 
what was to be done when we had integrity and independence to 
support. 

When they had integrity and independence to protect, they 
talked, indeed, loud enough about supporting Turkey, and you 
would suppose they were prepared to spend their whole resources 
upon it ; but all their measures have ended in nothing except that 
they have reduced Turkey to a state of greater weakness than at 
any portion of her history, whereas, on the other hand, in regard to 
the twelve or thirteen millions of Slavs and Roumanian population, 
they have made the name of England odious throughout the whole 
population, and done everything in their power to throw that popu- 
lation into the arms of Russia, to be the tool of Russia in its plans 
and schemes, unless, indeed, as I hope and am inclined to believe, 
the virtue of free institutions they have obtained will make them 
too wise to become the tools of any foreign Power whatever, will 
make them intent upon maintaining their own liberties as becomes 
a free people playing a noble part in the history of Europe. 

I have detained you too long, and I will not, though I would, 
pursue this subject further. I have shown you what I think the 
miserable failure of the policy of the Government. Remember we 
have a fixed point from which to draw our measurements. Remem- 



Gladstone on the Beaconsfield Ministry. 487 

ber what in 1876 the proposal of those who approved of the Bul- 
garian agitation and who were denounced as the enemies of Turkey, 
remember what that proposal would have done. 

It would have given Autonomy to Bulgaria, which has now got 
Autonomy ; but it would have saved all the remainder at less 
detriment to the rest of the Turkish Empire. Turkey would have 
had a fair chance. Turkey would not have suffered the territorial 
losses which she has elsewhere suffered, and which she has suffered 
I must say, in consequence of her being betrayed into the false and 
mischievous, the tempting and seductive, but unreal and unwise 
policy of the present Administration. 

There are other matters which must be reserved for other times. 
We are told about the Crimean War. Sir Stafford Northcote tells 
us the Crimean War, made by the Liberal Government, cost the 
country forty millions of debt, and an income tax of Is. 4d. per 
pound. Now what is the use of telling us that? I will discuss 
the Crimean War on some future occasion, but not now. If the 
Liberal Government were so clever, that they contrived to burden 
the country with forty millions of debt for this Crimean War, why 
does he not go back to the war before that, and tell us what the 
Tory Government did with the Revolutionary War, when they 
left a debt on the country of some nine hundred millions, of which 
six hundred and fifty millions they had made in the Revolutionary 
War, and not only so, but they left the blessing and legacy of the Corn 
Laws, and of a high protective system, and impoverished country, 
and a discontented population — so much so, that for years that 
followed that great Revolutionary War, no man could say whether 
the Constitution of this country was or was not worth five years' 
purchase. 

They might even go further back than the Revolutionary War. 
They have been talking loudly of the Colonies, and say that, for- 
sooth, the Liberal party do nothing for the Colonies. What did 
the Tory party do for the Colonies ? I can tell you. Go to the 
war that preceded the Revolutionary War. They made war against 
the American Continent, They added to the debt of the country 
two hundred millions in order to destroy freedom in America. 
They alienated it and drove it from this country. They were com- 
peted to bring this country to make an ignominious peace; and, 



488 Gladstone on the Beaoonsfield Ministry. 

as far as I know, that attempt to put down freedom in America, 
with its results to this country, is the only one great fact which has 
ever distinguished the relations between a Tory Government and 
the Colonies. 

But, Gentlemen, these must be matters postponed for another 
occasion. I thank you very cordially, both friends and opponents, 
if opponents you be, for the extreme kindness with which you have 
heard me. I have spoken, and I must speak in very strong terms 
of the acts done by my opponents. I will never say that they did it 
from vindictiveness, I will never say that they did it from passion, 
I will never say that they did it from a sordid love of office ; I have 
no right to use such words ; I have no right to entertain such senti- 
ments ; I repudiate and abjure them. I give them credit for 
patriotic motives — I give them credit for those patriotic motives, 
which are incessantly and gratuitously denied to us. I believe we 
are all united in a fond attachment to the great country to which 
we belong, to the great Empire which has committed to it a trust 
and function from Providence, as special and remarkable as was 
ever entrusted to any portion of the family of man. 

When I speak of that trust and that function I feel that words 
fail. I cannot tell you what I think of the nobleness of the inher- 
itance which has descended upon us, of the sacredness of the duty 
of maintaining it. I will not condescend to make it a part of con- 
troversial politics. It is a part of my being, of my flesh and bloody 
of my heart and soul. For those ends I have labored through my 
youth and manhood, and. more than that, till my hairs are grey. 
In that faith and practice I have lived, and in that faith and 
practice I shall die. 



CHAPTER XX. 

THE IRISH QUESTION. 

Personal Explanation — Domestic Government for Ireland — Six Conditions for 
Home Rule — Repelling Attacks — Trivial Disputes — All Great Movements 
Small in the Beginning — Failure of Parliament to Legislate for Ireland — 
Attempt to do Justice to the Irish — Union of the Kingdoms to Be Main- 
tained — Irish Affairs to Be Settled in Ireland — Movement Against Rent — 
Mr. Parnell's Party — Central Authority — Home Rule to Be Safeguarded — 
Urgency of the Question — Charge of Being in Haste. 



m 



| R. GLADSTONE, in a pamphlet published during the 
agitation of Home Rule for Ireland, defended his action 
in the following terms, which did much to silence hostile 
criticism and secure friends for the cause he advocated so earnestly: 
In the year 1868, I was closely associated with the policy of 
disestablishing the Irish Church. It was then, not unfairly, 
attempted to assail the cause in the person of its advocate. To 
defeat this attempt, an act became necessary which would other- 
wise have been presumptuous and obtrusive. In order to save the 
policy from suffering, I laid a personal explanation before the 
world. The same motive now obliges me to repeat the act, and 
will I hope form a sufficient excuse for my repeating it. 

The substance of ray defence or apology will, however, on the 
present occasion be altogether different. I had then to explain the 
reasons for which, and the mode in which, I changed the opinions 
and conduct, with respect to the Church of Ireland then established, 
which I had held half a century ago. I had shown my practical 
acceptance of the rule that change of opinion should if possible be 
accompanied with proof of independence and disinterested motive ; 
for I had resigned my place in the Cabinet of Sir Robert Peel in 
order to make good my title to a new point of departure. On the 
present occasion I have no such change to vindicate ; but only to- 
point out the mode in which my language and conduct, governed 
by uniformity of principle, have simply followed the several stages,, 

489 



490 The Irish Question. 

by which the great question of autonomy for Ireland has been 
brought to a state of ripeness for practical legislation. 

It is a satisfaction to me that, in confuting imputations upon 
myself, I shall not be obliged to cast imputations on any individual 
opponent. 

The subject of a domestic government for Ireland, without any 
-distinct specification of its form, has been presented to us from time 
to time. I have at no time regarded it as necessarily replete with 
danger, or as a question which ought to be blocked out by the asser- 
tion of some high constitutional doctrine with which it could not be 
reconciled. But I have considered it to be a question involving 
such an amount and such a kind of change, and likely to be 
■encountered with so much of prejudice apart from reason, as to 
make it a duty to look rigidly to the conditions, upon the fulfill- 
ment of which alone it could warrantably be entertained. They 
were in my view as follows: 

1. It could not be entertained, except upon a final surrender 
of the hope that Parliament could so far serve as a legislative 
instrument for Ireland, as to be able to establish honorable and 
friendly relations between Great Britain and the people of that 
country. 

2. Nor unless the demand for it were made in obedience to the 
unequivocal and rooted desire of Ireland, expressed through the 
constitutional medium of the Irish representatives. 

3. Nor unless, being thus made, it were likewise so defined, as 
to bring it within the limits of safety and prudence, and to obviate 
all danger to the unity and security of the Empire. 

4. Nor was it, in my view, allowable to deal with Ireland upon 
any principle, the benefit of which could not be allowed to Scot- 
land in circumstances of equal and equally clear desire. 

5. Upon the fulfillment of these conditions, it appeared to me 
an evident duty to avoid, as long as possible, all steps which would 
bring this great settlement into the category of party measures. 

6. And, subject to the foregoing considerations, I deemed it to 
be of great moment to the public weal that the question should be 
promptly and expeditiously dealt with; inasmuch as it must other- 
wise gravely disturb the action of our political system by changes 
of Ministry, by Dissolutions of Parliament, and by impeding the 



The Irish Question. 491 

business, and derogating further from the character of the House 
of Commons. 

These were the principles, which I deemed applicable to the 
subject ; and every step I have taken from first to last, without 
exception, has been prompted by, and is referable to, one or other 
of them. 

From the torrent of reproachful criticisms, brought down upon 
me probably by the necessity of the case, it is not easy to extricate, 
in an adequate form, the charge or charges intended to be made. 
One or two of the statements I must own surprise me ; as for 
example when Lord Northbrook, complaining of me for reticence 
before, and for my action after, the election of 1885, states con- 
fidently that nothing had happened " that could not have been 
foreseen by any man of ordinary political foresight." I do not 
dwell upon the undeniable truth that many things may be fore- 
seen, which, notwithstanding, cannot properly become the subject 
of action until they have been seen as well as foreseen. 

But I broadly contest the statement. I assert that an incident 
of the most vital importance had happened, which I did not fore- 
see ; which was not foreseen, to my knowledge, by any one else, 
even if some might have hoped for it ; and which I doubt whether 
Lord Northbrook himself foresaw ; namely, that the Irish demand, 
put forth on the first night of the Session by Mr. Parnell, with eighty- 
four Irish Home Rulers at his back, would be confined within the 
fair and moderate bounds of autonomy ; of an Irish legislature, 
only for affairs specifically Irish; of a statutory and subordinate 
Parliament. But in this incident lay the fulfillment of one of those 
conditions which were in my view essential, and which had been 
theretofore unfulfilled. 

The more general and more plausible form of the attack I think 
may be stated as a dilemma. Either I had conceived the intention 
of Home Rule precipitately, or I had concealed it unduly. Either 
would, undoubtedly, have been a grave offence ; the second as a 
plot against my friends, the first as an attempt to escape from the 
sober judgment of the country and to carry it by surprise. The 
first aspect of the case was presented by Lord Hartington in the 
? Iouse of Commons, and by Mr. Chamberlain, on the 20th of June, 
at Birmingham. The second was put forward bv Mr- Bright in 



492 The Irish Question. 

addressing his constituents, and, with much point and force, by 
Lord Hartington, at Sheffield. 

In substance he argued thus : " Mr. Gladstone has never, during 
fifteen years, condemned the principle of Home Rule. Either, then, 
he had not considered it, or he had assented to it. But, in his 
position as Minister, he must have considered it. Therefore, the 
proper conclusion is, that he had assented to it. And yet, though 
I was Secretary for Ireland, with Lord Spencer as Viceroy, when 
he was Prime Minister, to neither of us did he convey the smallest 
idea of such assent." 

Telling as this statement evidently was, it abounds in leakages. 
In the first place I deny that it is the duty of every minister to 
make known, even to his colleagues, every idea which has formed 
itself in his mind. I should even say that the contradictory pro- 
position would be absurd. So far as my experience of government 
has gone, subjects ripe for action supply a minister with abundant 
material for communication with his colleagues, and to make a rule 
or mixing with them matters still contingent and remote, would 
confuse and retard business, instead of aiding it. But letting pass, 
for argument sake, a very irrational proposition, I grapple with the 
dilemma, and say non sequitur — the consequence asserted is no con- 
sequence at all. It was no consequence from my not having con- 
demned Home Rule, that I had either not considered it, or had 
adopted it. 

What is true is, that I had not publicly and in principle con- 
demned it, and also that I had mentally considered it. But I had 
neither adopted nor rejected it; and for the very simple reason, 
that it was not ripe either for adoption or rejection. It had not 
become the unequivocal demand of Ireland ; and it had not been 
so defined by its promoters, as to prove that it was a safe demand. 
It may and should be known to many who are or have been my 
colleagues, that I made some abortive efforts towards increasing 
Irish influence over Irish affairs, beyond the mere extension of 
county government, but not in a shape to which the term Home 
Rule could be properly applied. 

Nor have I been able to trace a single imputation upon me, 
whether of omission or commission, in respect of which I should 
not, by acting according to the orders of my censors, have offended 



The Irish Question. 493 

against all or some of the rules, which I have pointed out as the 
guides of my conduct, and by which I seek to staud or fall. 

As these disputes of ours, trivial enough from one point of view, 
are in a certain sense making history, it may be well if, in connec- 
tion with the thread of these observations, I recall, by means of a 
very brief outline, some particulars relating to the Government of 
Ireland, and to the demand for a domestic legislature, during the 
last half century. For that demand, constant in the hearts of 
Irishmen, has nevertheless been intermittent in its manifestation ; 
sometimes wider, sometimes narrower in its form ; sometimes, as 
in the famine, put aside by imperative necessity ; sometimes yield- 
ing the ground to partial and lawless action ; sometimes exchanged 
for attempts at practical legislation, which, for the moment, threw 
it into the shade. 

The great controversy of Free Trade, the reformation of the 
Tariff, and the care of finance, provided me, in common with many 
others, nay, in the main provided the Three Kingdoms, with a 
serious and usually an absorbing political occupation for a quarter of 
a century, from the time when the Government of Sir R. Peel was 
formed in 1841. When that period has passed, and when the 
question of the franchise had been dealt with, the general condi- 
tion of Ireland became the main subject of my anxiety. 

The question of a home-government for Ireland was at that 
time in abeyance. The grant of such a government to that coun- 
try had only been known to us, in the past, either as the demand 
for a repeal of the Legislative Union, or in the still more formid- 
able shape, which it presented when the policy of O'Connell was 
superseded by the men of action, and when the too just discontent 
of Ireland assumed the violent and extravagant form of Fenianism. 
The movement for Repeal appeared to merge into this dangerous 
conspiracy, which it was obvious could only be met by measures of 
repression. In none of these controversies had I personally taken 
any direct share, beyond following the statesmen of 1834 and of 
1844 by my vote against Repeal of the Union. Mournfully as I 
am struck, in retrospect, by the almost absolute failure of Parlia- 
ment, at and long after those periods, to perform its duties to Ire- 
Innd, I see no reason to repent of any such vote. Unspeakably 
criminal, I own, were the means by which the Union was brought 



494 The Irish Question. 

about, and utterly insufficient were the reasons for its adoption ; 
still it was a measure vast in itself and in its consequential arrange- 
ments, and it could not be made the subject of experiment from 
year to year, or from Parliament to Parliament. 

There was then a yet stronger reason for declining to impart a 
shock to the legislative fabric by Repeal. Before us lay an alter- 
native policy, the relief of Ireland from grievance ; and this policy 
had not been tried in any manner at all approaching to sufficiency. 
It was not possible, at the time, to prognosticate how in a short time 
Parliament would stumble and almost writhe under its constantly 
accumulating burdens, or to pronounce that it would eventually 
prove incapable of meeting the wants of Ireland. Evidently there 
was a period when Irish patriotism, as represented by O'Connell, 
looked favorably upon this alternative policy, had no fixed conclu- 
sion as to the absolute necessity for Home Government, and seemed 
to allow that measures founded in "justice to Ireland" might pos- 
sibly suffice to meet the necessity of the case. 

But the efforts made in this direction, down to the time of the 
famine, were, though honest and useful, only partial; and they 
unhappily had been met by an obstinacy of resistance, which en- 
tailed long delays and frequent mutilations; and which in all cases 
deprived them of their gracious aspect, and made even our reme- 
dial plans play the part of corroborative witnesses to an evil state 
of things. 

It will be admitted that the Government of 1868-74 endeavored 
on a more adequate scale, principally by what is still called in some 
quarters sacrilege and confiscation, to grapple with an inveterate 
difficulty. Once more, in acknowledgment of these efforts, the Na- 
tional Party fell into line. But, on the important question of Edu- 
cation, we were defeated in 1873, not by an English, but by an 
Irish resistance. Other measures, to which I nad looked with in- 
terest, could not be brought to birth. But a happy effect had been 
produced upon Irish feeling; and prosperity, both agricultural and 
general singularly, it might be said unduly, favored for some years 
ihe operation of the Land Act of 1870. We had taken seriously 
to the removal of grievance, as the alternative policy to Repeal of 
the Union. 

So much had been achieved, with the zealous support of the elect- 



The Irish Question. 495 

orate of England and Scotland, that it was our plain duty to carry- 
through that policy to the uttermost, and to give no countenance in 
any shape to proposals for either undoing or modifying the present 
constitution of the Imperial Parliament, until it had been estab- 
lished to our satisfaction, or conclusively shown to be the fixed and 
rooted conviction of the Irish people, that Parliament was unequal 
to the work of governing Ireland as a free people should be gov- 
erned. 

At this time it was, that the new formula of Home Rule came 
forward as matter for discussion, not in Parliament, but in Ireland j 
before the Irish public and under the auspices of Mr. Isaac Butt, 
who was at that time simply an individual of remarkable ability, 
not yet the representative or leader of a Nationalist party, far less 
of a Nationalist majority. There were, at the time, no inconsider- 
able presumptions that Parliament could meet the wants of Ireland, 
from the conspicuous acts it had just accomplished. It was very 
well known that in some cases where those wants had not been 
adequately met, such as the case of the Borough Franchise in 1868, 
it was really due to the defective expression of them by Irish Mem- 
bers of Parliament. It was plain that there was no authoritative 
voice from Ireland, such as was absolutely required to justify a 
Prime Minister of this country in using any language which could 
be quoted as an encouragement to the movement on behalf of a 
domestic Legislature. 

Accordingly, I contended at Aberdeen in the summer of 1871, 
that no case had been established to prove the incompetence of 
Parliament, or to give authority to the demand of Mr. Butt. I 
felt, and rightly felt, the strongest objections to breaking up an 
existing constitution of the Legislature, without proof of its neces- 
sity, of its safety, and of the sufficiency of the authority by which 
the demand was made. But even at that time I did not close the 
door against a recognition of the question in a different state of 
things. I differed as widely as possible, even at that time, from 
those with whom I have been in conflict during the present year. 
For, instead of denouncing the idea of Home Rule as one in its 
essence destructive of the unity of the Empire, in the following 
*vords I accepted the assurance given to the contrary : 

" Let me do the promoters of this movement the fullest justice. 



496 The Irish Question. 

Always speaking under the conviction, as they most emphatically 
declare, and as I fully believe them, that the union of these king- 
doms under Her Majesty is to be maintained, but that Parliament 
is to be broken up." 

Thus, at the very first inception of the question, I threw aside 
the main doctrine on which opposition to Irish autonomy is 
founded. This was the first step, and I think a considerable step, 
towards placing the controversy on its true basis. 

In the General Election of 1874, a great progress became visi- 
ble. Mr. Butt was returned to Parliament as the chief of a party, 
formed on behalf of Irish self-government. It was a considerable 
party, amounting, as is said, to a small nominal majority, yet 
rather conventionally agreed on a formula than united by any idea 
worked into practical form. But a new stage had been reached, 
and I thus referred at the opening of the Session to the proposal 
of the Irish leader : 

" That plan is this — that exclusively Irish affairs are to be 
fudged in Ireland, and that then the Irish members are to come to 
the Imperial Parliament and to judge as they may think fit of the 
general affairs of the Empire, and also of affairs exclusively English 
and Scotch [Mr. Butt : No, No.] It is all very well for gentle- 
men to cry ' No ' when the blot has been hit by the honorable 
gentleman opposite." (Mr. Newdegate). . . . 

" I cannot quit this subject without recording the satisfaction 
with which I heard one declaration made by the right honorable 
gentleman who seconded the amendment (Mr. Brooks). My hon- 
orable and learned friend said, that Ireland has entirely given up 
the idea of separation from this country.''' 

Thus I again accepted without qualification the principle that 
Home Rule had no necessary connection with separation ; and took 
my objection simply to a proposal that Irishmen should deal ex- 
clusively with their own affairs, and also, jointly, with ours. 

After the death of Mr. Butt, Mr. Shaw became the leader of his 
party, and in 1884 delivered an exposition of his views in a spirit 
so frank and loyal to the Constitution, that I felt it my duty at 
once to meet such an utterance in a friendly manner. I could not 
indeed, consistently with the conditions I have laid down, make 
his opinion my own. But I extract a portion of my reference to 
his speech, as it is reported. 



The Irish Question. 497 

" I must say that the spirit of thorough manliness in which he 
approaches this question, and which he unites with a spirit of 
thorough kindliness to us, and with an evident disposition to 
respect both the functions of this House, and the spirit of the Eng- 
lish Constitution, does give hope that if the relations between 
England and Ireland are to become thoroughly satisfactory, the 
most important contribution to that essential end will have been 
made by my honorable friend, and those who speak like him." 

In a speech at the Guildhall, on receiving an address, I reverted 
to the subject of Home Rule. This was the period (October, 1881) 
when I deemed it my duty more than once to denounce in strong 
terms the movement against rent in Ireland, and with it the 
extravagant claims which seemed to me to be made in the name of 
National Independence. Yet I then spoke as follows: 

" It is not on any point connected with the exercise of local gov- 
ernment in Ireland ; it is not even on any point connected with 
what is popularly known in that country as Home Rule, and 
which may be understood in any one of a hundred senses, some of 
them perfectly acceptable, and even desirable, others of them mis- 
chievous and revolutionary — it is not upon any of those points that 
we are at present at issue. With regard to local government in 
Ireland, after what I have said of local government in general, 
and its immeasurable benefits, you will not be surprised if I say 
that I for one will hail with satisfaction and delight any measure 
of local government for Ireland, or for any portion of the country, 
provided ouly that it conform to this one condition, that it shall not 
break down or impair the supremacy of the Imperial Parliament." 

Once more I entered on the subject, in the House of Commons, 
on February 9, 1882. I referred to the party led then, as now, 
by Mr. Paruell. The citation is from Hansard : 

" Neither they, nor so far as I know Mr. Butt before them, nor 
so far as I know Mr. O'Conuell before him, ever distinctly ex- 
plained, in an intelligible and practicable form, the manner in 
which the real knot of this question was to be untied. The prin- 
ciple upon which the honorable members propose to proceed is this — 
that purely Irish matters should be dealt with by a purely Irish 
authority, and that purely Imperial matters should be dealt with 
by an Imperial Chamber in which Ireland is to be represented. 
32 



498 The Irish Question. 

But they have not told us by what authority it is to be determined 
what matters, when taken one by one, are Irish, and what matters 
are Imperial. 

" Until, Sir, they lay before this House a plan in which they go 
to the very bottom of that subject, and give us to understand in 
what manner that division of jurisdiction is to be accomplished, 
the practical consideration of this subject cannot really be arrived 
at, and, for my own part, I know not how any effective judgment 
upon it can be pronounced. Whatever may be the outcome of the 
honorable member's proposal, of this I am well convinced, that neither 
this House of Commons, nor any other that may succeed it, will at 
any time assent to any measure by which the one paramount Cen- 
tral Authority, necessary for holding together in perfect union and 
compactness this great Empire, can possibly be either in the great- 
est or the slightest degree impaired. 

" We are not to depart from that principle ; and what I put to the 
honorable gentleman who has just sat down, and to the honorable 
member who preceded him is this — that their first duty to us and their 
first duty to themselves, their first obligation in the prosecution of the 
purpose which they have in view — namely, the purpose of securing 
the management of purely Irish affairs by Irish hands — is to point 
out to us by what authority, and by what instrument, affairs purely 
Irish are to be divided and distinguished, in order that they may 
be appropriately and separately dealt with from those Imperial 
affairs and interests which they have frankly admitted must remain 
in the hands of the Imperial Parliament." 

Mr. Plunkett hereupon stated that he had taken down my words, 
and that he could only understand them as an invitation to Irish 
members to re-open the question of Home Rule. Nor did he see 
how I could after using such words resist a motion for a Commit- 
tee on the subject. To any and every plan for referring such a 
subject to a Committee of Parliament I have at all times been op- 
posed. But Mr. Plunkett's meaning was evident, nor could I dis- 
pute the substance of his interpretation. 

I will not weary my reader by adding to citations by which his 
patience has already been so severely tried. But I ask him to 
remember that down to this time no safe-guarding definition of 
Home Rule had been supplied, and no demand, in the constitu- 



The Irish Question. 499 

tional sense, had been made by the Irish nation. I beg him then, 
after he has read the foregoing declarations, to place himself for a 
single moment in my position, as one who thought conditions to be 
indispensable, but also thought that the question might under con- 
ditions be entertained, and then to ask himself whether it was pos- 
sible more carefully to indicate in outline the limits within which 
the subject of Irish self-government might, and beyond which it 
might not, legitimately be considered, and whether it is anything 
less than absurd to impute to me that my " principles " forbade me 
to promote it ? 

I next pass to the period preceding the election of 1885. It 
had now become morally certain that Ireland would, through a 
vast majority of her representatives, present a demand in the Na- 
tional sense. But no light had been thrown, to my knowledge, 
upon the question what that demand would be. Further, not only 
was there a Tory Government in office, but one which owed much 
to Mr. Parnell, and which was supposed to have given him, 
through its Lord Lieutenant or otherwise, assurances respecting 
Irish Government, which he had deemed more or less satisfactory. 

Under these circumstances, I conceived that my duty was clear, 
and that it was summed up in certain particulars. They were 
these. To do nothing to hinder the prosecution of the question by 
the Tory Government if it should continue in office (of course 
without prejudice to my making all the efforts in my power to 
procure a Liberal majority). Entirely to avoid any language 
which would place the question in the category of party measures. 
But to use my best efforts to impress the public mind, and especi- 
ally the Liberal mind, with the supreme importance, and the 
probable urgency, of the question. And lastly, to lay down the 
principle on which it should be dealt with. These rules of action 
applied to the circumstances of the hour those governing prin- 
ciples which I have above enumerated. I proceeded on them as 
follows : 

It was impossible for me, while ignorant of the nature and 
limits of the Irish demand, to give an opinion upon it ; and even 
had it been possible, it would have been in conflict with the con- 
dition which I have numbered as the fifth. But, to give em- 
phasis to the importance of the question, I severed it in my 



500 The Irish Question. 

Address from the general subject of Local Government for the 
three kingdoms. Ireland had arrived, I said, at an important 
epoch in her history ; she had claims to a special interpretation of 
the principles of Local Government. It would be the solution of 
a problem, testing the political genius of these nations. Woe be to 
the man who should prevent or retard the consummation. It 
would probably throw into the shade all the important measures, 
which in my Address I had set out as ripe for action. And the 
subject is one " which goes down to the very roots and foundations 
of our whole civil and political constitution." And yet it has been 
said, strangely enough, that I gave no indication to my friends, 
except of Local Government in the sense of County Government 
for Ireland. 

Lastly, I laid down, over and over again, the principle on which 
we ought to proceed. It was to give to Ireland everything which 
was compatible with " the Supremacy of the Crown, the Unity of 
the Empire, and all the authority of Parliament necessary for the 
conservation of that Unity." It appears to me that the whole of 
the provisions of the Irish Government Bill, lately buried, but 
perhaps not altogether dead, lies well within these lines, and that 
my case thus far is complete. 

What I have in these pages urged has been a defence against a 
charge of reticence. On the charge of precipitancy I need not 
bestow many words. What antagonists call precipitancy I call 
promptitude. Had Mr. Pitt in 1801 carried Roman Catholic 
Emancipation, as we suppose he wished, many an Englishman 
would have thought him precipitate. Precipitancy, indeed, was 
avoided, but at what cost? For nine-aud-twenty years the ques- 
tion was trifled with on one side the Channel, and left festering on 
the other, and emancipation was at last accepted as an alternative 
to civil war. 

Such is not the manner in which I desire to see the business of 
the Empire carried on. It was not pondering the case ; it was 
paltering with the public interests. I do not deny that promptitude 
is disagreeable in politics, as it often is to a doctor's or a surgeon's 
patient. But if the practitioner sees that, by every day's delay, the 
malady takes hold and the chances of health or life are dwindling 
away, it is his duty to press the operation or the drug, and the 



The Irish Question. 501 

sufferer will in due time be grateful to him for the courage and 
fidelity which at first he mistakenly condemned. 

I have endeavored to point out the conditions under which alone 
the question of a statutory Parliament for Ireland could be war- 
rantably entertained. The real test may be stated in one word : 
the ripeness or unripeness of the question. All men do not per- 
ceive, all men do not appreciate, ripeness, with the same degree of 
readiness or aptitude; and the slow must ever suffer inconvenience 
in the race of life. But, when the subject once was ripe, the time 
for action had come. Just as if it had been a corn-field, we were 
not to wait till it was over-ripe. 

The healing of inveterate sores would only become more difficulty 
the growth of budding hopes more liable to be checked and paral- 
ized by the frosts of politics. For England, in her soft arm-chair, 
a leisurely, very leisurely consideration, with adjournments inter- 
posed, as it had been usual, so also would have been comfortable. 
But for Ireland, in her leaky cabin, it was of consequence to stop 
out the weather. To miss the opportunity would have been not 
less clearly wrong than to refuse waiting until it came. The first 
political juncture which made action permissible also made it 
obligatory. So much, then, for precipitancy. 

If I am not egregiously wrong in all that has been said, Ireland 
has now lying before her a broad and even way, in which to walk 
to the consummation of her wishes. Before her eyes is opened 
that same path of constitutional and peaceful action, of steady, 
free, and full discussion, which has led England and Scotland to 
the achievement of all their pacific triumphs. Like the walls of 
Jericho, falling, not in blood and conflagration, but at the trumpet's 
peal, so, under the action of purely moral forces, have an hundred 
fortresses of prejudice, privilege, and shallow proscription, succes- 
sively given away. 

It is the potent spell of legality, which has done all this, or 
enabled it to be done. The evil spirit of illegality and violence 
has thus far had no part or lot in the political action of Ireland, 
since, through the Franchise Act of 1885, she came into that 
inheritance of adequate representation, from which she had before 
been barred. Ireland, in her present action, is not to be held 
responsible for those agrarian offences, which are in truth the indi- 



502 The Irish Question. 

cation and symptom of her disease; from which her public opinion 
has, through the recent beneficial action, become greatly more 
estranged; and to which she herself ardently entreats us to apply 
the only effectual remedy, by such a reconciliation between the 
people and the law, as is the necessary condition of civilized life. 

The moderation of the Irish demands, as they were presented 
and understood in the Session of 1886, has been brightly reflected 
in the calm, conflicting, and constitutional attitude of the nation. 
I make no specific reference to the means that have been used in 
one deplorable case, under guilty recommendations from above, 
with a view to disturbing this attitude, and arresting the progress 
of the movement; for I believe that the employment of such 
means, and the issuing of such recommendations, will eventually 
aid the cause they were designed to injure. It is true that, in the 
close of the last century, the obstinate refusal of just demands, and 
the deliberate and dreadful acts of Ireland's enemies, drove her 
people widely into disaffection, and partially into the ways of actual 
violence. 

But she was then down trodden and gagged. She has now a 
full constitutional equipment of all the means necessary for raising 
and determining the issues of moral force. She has also the 
strongest sympathies within, as well as beyond, these shores to 
cheer, moderate, and guide her. The position is for her a novel 
one, and in its novelty lies its only risk. But she is quick and 
ready of perception ; she has the rapid comprehensive glance, 
which the generals she has found for us have shown on many a 
field of battle. The qualities she has so eminently exhibited this 
year have already earned for her a rich reward in confidence and 
good will. There is no more to ask of her. She has only to 
persevere. 

The statesmen who deemed coercive measures an absolute neces- 
sity do not now propose them, although agrarian crime has rather 
increased and Ireland has been perturbed (so they said) by the pro- 
posal of home rule. This is a heavy blow to coercion and a 
marked sign of progress. I am concerned to say that on no other 
head do the announcements supply any causes for congratula- 
tion : 

1. Large Irish subjects, ripe for treatment, are to be referred to 



The Irish Question. 603 

commissions of inquiry. This is a policy (while social order is in 
question) of almost indefinite delay. 

2. Moreover, while a commission is to inquire whether the rates 
of judicial rents are or are not such as can be paid, the aid of the 
law for levying the present rents in November has been special! v 
and emphatically promised. This is a marked discouragement to 
remissions of rent and a powerful stimulus to evictions. 

3. A project has been sketched of imposing upon the State the 
payment of all moneys required to meet the difference between 
these actual rents and what the laud can fairly bear. This project 
is in principle radically bad, and it would be an act of rapine on 
the treasury of the country. 

4. Whereas the greatest evil of Ireland is that its magisterial 
and administrative systems are felt to be other than Irish, no pro- 
posal is made for the reconstruction of what is known as the Dub- 
lin Castle government. 

5. It is proposed to spend large sums of public money on public 
works of all kinds for the material development of Ireland under 
English authority and Dublin Castle administration. This plan is 
(!) in the highest degree wasteful ; (2) it is unjust to the British 
taxpayer ; and (3) it is an obvious attempt to divert the Irish 
nation by pecuniary inducement from its honorable aim of national 
self-govern nient, and will as such be resented. 

6. The limitation of local government in Ireland to what may at 
this moment be desired for Great Britain is just to none of our 
nationalities, rests upon no recognized principle, and is especially 
an unjust limitation of the Irish national desire. In my opinion 
such a policy for dealing with the Irish question ought not to be 
and cannot be adopted. 

There are at least four great cases, which have been placed on 
record within my memory, and in every one of which a Conserva- 
tive Government, after having resisted a great proposal up to the 
moment immediately preceding the surrender, then became its 
official sponsor, and carried it into law. They are the cases of the 
Test Act in 1828, of the Roman Catholic Relief in 1829, of Com 
Law Repeal in 1846 (when, however, Sir Robert Peel had done 
all in his power to throw the conduct of the question into Liberal 
hands), and of Extension of the Franchise in 1867. 



504 The Irish Question. 

In the last of these cases, not only had the measure been re- 
sisted, but a Liberal Government had been overthrown in the pre- 
ceding year on account of a measure less extended, not indeed than 
the veLy meagre original proposal of 1867, but than the measure 
which, by the strength of Liberal votes, and with the sanction of 
the Derby-Disraeli Government, was eventually carried. 

It seems extremely doubtful whether any one of these measures 
would have been adopted through both Houses, except under the 
peculiar conditions which secured for them on each occasion, both 
the aid of the Liberal vote in the House of Commons, and the 
authority of the Tory Government in the House of Lords. 

One other case stands alone. The Tory chiefs of 1832, with the 
exception of Sir Robert Peel, fiercely resisting the Reform Bill of 
Lord Grey, and stopping its progress in their own familiar fortress, 
the House of Lords, declared themselves nevertheless willing to 
take charge of the question. But public indignation wa3 too 
strong to permit the progress of the experiment. 



LbN?9 



